


Someone Like Us

by Bitter_Sweet



Category: ATEEZ (Band), Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternating Perspectives, Ateez are recurring side characters, College, Confessions, Enemies to Lovers, Feelings, Forests, Friends to Lovers, Halloween, Horror, Kissing, Love, M/M, Pining, Psychological Horror, Slow Burn, Stray Kids centric, Supernatural - Freeform, Supernatural Elements, but im not going to tell you what supernatural elements because that would ruin the surprise, but not the whole time, but only kind of, changlix, i will probably add more tags as i write this, minsung - Freeform, seungjin - Freeform, supernatural horror, supernatural town
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:47:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 30,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26417440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bitter_Sweet/pseuds/Bitter_Sweet
Summary: Han Jisung has just transferred to a new college, but is quick to make friends. However, he is also quick to discover that everything in this town is not what it seems.Lee Felix is struggling to balance several jobs along with his studies, all while trying to make time to spend with his friends. To add to his worries, he also begins to notice his ever-growing feelings for his roommate.Yang Jeongin is a freshman at Orchidview University, but he already had friends there waiting for him. However, something other than studies was calling out to him. Orchidview is a town full of secrets and Jeongin is far more connected to them than he realizes.Kim Seungmin has been searching for answers about this town for almost all of his life. After a particularly curious event from when he was a child, Seungmin has spent nearly every ounce of his free time trying to solve the town's secrets.Everything begins to take a turn after one October night. The oddities are easily ignored at first, but, as things begin to take a sinister turn, a group of friends is forced to solve the mystery surrounding the strange events that have been affecting them all.
Relationships: Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi, Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Comments: 20
Kudos: 109





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is my first time posting something longer than a one shot here and I have made the bold decision to post the first chapter without having finished the story.   
> I hope you enjoy!

Jisung gulped, staring up at his new dorm building, bags in hand. He had just transferred to Orchidview from his previous school, moving far, far away from home. It was due to this fact that Jisung found himself moving everything in by himself. Which is also why he wisely decided to travel moderately light. He figured he could buy himself a new wardrobe once he got settled. Even so, Jiusng’s bags were far from light as he dragged them up two flights of stairs.

Jisung heaved a sigh of relief when he finally made it to his dorm room. He had paid for a single, safely tucked into a corner and extra spacious. As Jisung threw his bags onto the bare mattress in the room, he was thankful that he at least didn’t have a roommate to deal with. Moving somewhere new, and to an entirely new school, was stressful enough. Jisung would find other ways to make friends. In fact, he would get to it right after he finished unpacking. As it stood, he knew absolutely no one here and he wasn’t ready to be completely alone. 

Jisung forced himself out of his dorm eventually, before he could manage to change his mind. His anxiety always seemed to get in the way of him making friends, but he moved here for a new start. Jisung took a deep breath, staring down at a hallway that was looking more intimidating every second. There were a couple of people in the hall, including a few parents helping their kids move in. Jisung bit his lip, debating on whether or not he should just slip back into his own room and call it a day on socializing. 

Jisung jumped when a boy close to him kicked one of the doors a couple times. He realized that it was surely because the boy was carrying a stack of boxes, but that didn’t mean Jisung was prepared for it. 

“Felix!” the boy called. “Are you in there? I need some help with the door.”

Jisung watched the boy frown when he got no response. He sighed, looking around. Jisung froze when he met his eyes. It was too late to go back now. 

“Excuse me,” the boy began, eyes still locked with Jisung’s. “Would you mind giving me a hand? These boxes are really heavy and I really don’t want to try to pick them all up again.”

It took Jiusng’s brain a solid few seconds to process the request. A few seconds in which he stood there just blinking at this poor stranger while he waited for a response. All at once, Jisung sprung into action. “Oh, of course!” He scurried over to the boy, reaching around him to open the door to what he assumed to be the other’s dorm. 

“Thank you,” the boy breathed gratefully, stepping through the doorway and into the room. 

Jisung stared after him as he disappeared into his dorm, contemplating whether or not he was supposed to leave now. Apparently he thought about it for too long because the other was back before he even had the chance to leave. 

“Thanks for the help.” He held out a hand which Jisung stared at like an idiot. “I’m Changbin.” It was then that Jisung realized he was supposed to shake his hand.

“Ah, I’m Jisung.” He smiled awkwardly. 

“I haven’t seen you around here before,” Changbin wondered aloud. “Are you a first-year?”

Jisung bit his lip, shaking his head. “I just transferred here, actually.”

“Oh, well it’s nice to meet you.” Jisung was grateful that Changbin was being so friendly to him. He had really lucked out for his first day. “We should keep in touch. You seem cool.”

Jisung barely saw the boy slide past him before he was throwing his arms around Changbin’s shoulders. Jisung blinked in confusion at the sudden interruption. 

“Oh, don’t let him fool you,” the newcomer directed to Jisung with a smile. “He can be a real pain.”

“Shut up, Felix,” Changbin laughed, freeing himself from the other’s grasp. 

Everything clicked in Jisung’s head. “Oh! You must be Changbin’s roommate. I was just helping him get his things into the room. I’m at the end of the hall.”   
Jisung gestured in the direction of his room. “Three forty-six.”

“Ah, a new neighbor.,” Felix marveled with a smile. “And a friendly one, at that.”

They had both been so kind to him thus far, but Jisung couldn’t help but notice just how different the two roommates looked. Neither was very tall (not that Jisung could judge considering he was pretty short himself), but Changbin was about an inch shorter than them both. However, their differences didn’t stop there. Changbin’s hair was straight and black, his bangs covering his eyebrows. His wardrobe seemed to consist of mostly black clothing, but Jisung had only known him for a few minutes so he couldn’t exactly be sure. Felix, on the other hand. Was dressed in a pink sweater that complimented his fluffy, bleach blonde hair. When Jisung looked closer, he also couldn’t help but notice the freckles decorating Felix’s face. These two seemed like total opposites, but Jisung could tell from the way they interacted that they were close. 

While Jisung was taking in their appearances, the other two continued the conversation without him. 

“I already moved everything in a little earlier,” Felix commented. “But you weren’t here yet, so I went for a walk around the campus.”

“Aren’t you impatient,” Changbin huffed. “I could have used your help about five minutes ago.”

Felix waved his hand in the air dismissively. “If I had been here you wouldn’t have met . . .” Felix turned to look at Jisung, clearly asking for help. 

“Jisung,” Jisung offered, unprepared to be thrown so suddenly into the conversation again.

“Right,” Felix said with a smile. “Aaaand, I can still help you move things in now.” Felix smiled mischievously. “Unless you would like Jisung’s help with that too.”

Changbin rolled his eyes. “Don’t be getting jealous already. We survived a whole school year living together already. I’m not backing out on you now.”

Felix turned back to Jisung. “Have you already met your roommate?”

“Oh, I . . . live in a single.” Jisung waited for a response timidly, hoping that they wouldn’t think of him as antisocial for his choice. 

Felix shook his head. “Lucky.”

Changbin swatted at his shoulder. “Don’t test your luck.”

Jisung really felt off being around these two, like an outcast. It was beyond clear that they were very close and Jisung was just this stranger standing around as they chatted. They both seemed really nice, and like they wanted to be friends, but Jisung couldn’t help but feel like he was just getting in the way. .

“I think I had better go and explore the campus before it starts to get dark,” Jisung announced as a segway into his departure. 

“Oh!” Felix stopped Jisung before he could slip away. “There is this coffee shop just down the street. You absolutely have to get something there. Trust me, you won’t regret it. It’s the first one you will see heading towards the square."

“He’s just saying that because he works there,” Changbin clarified with a laugh. “It really is good though.”

“Thanks,” Jisung called as he made his way towards the stairs. “I’ll see you around.” Only when he was finally out of sight did he mumble an “I hope” under his breath. 

The bell over the door chimed as Jisung exited the coffee shop, drink in hand. Felix and Changbin really had not been exaggerating when they talked this place up. Jisung thought about going back to his room, but he had barely seen any of the campus so he decided to actually try and at least somewhat familiarize himself with the place he would be staying. He didn’t actually know how to get anywhere, so he began to simply stroll down the street.

To Jisung’s dismay, he seemed to quickly find the busiest part of campus almost immediately. The nearly empty streets transitioned into crowds of students milling about. It was chaos. Jisung lowered his head, trying to slip through the people unnoticed. However, he quickly got swallowed into masses. Before he knew it, Jisung found himself stumbling about, being knocked around by people who didn’t seem to have any regard for his space. 

Jisung finally made it out of the crowd when he was all but pushed out of it. He stumbled on the sidewalk, feeling himself lose his balance. His eyes widened as he pedaled forward, trying to stay on his feet. Jisung managed not to fall, but what he did do was slam directly into someone. As if that experience wasn’t bad enough itself, his cup of coffee had gotten crushed between then, spilling all over both him and whatever poor stranger he ran into. 

Jisung tore himself away faster than he knew possible, crushed plastic cup still in hand. Still trying to regain his bearings, Jisung took in the sight of the person standing before him. The man staring down at his coffee soaked dress shirt in disbelief was nothing short of stunning. His chocolate hair fell over his eyes before he looked back up to glare at Jisung. There was a fire in the man’s dark eyes that made Jisung shiver. 

Jisung scrambled to find his words, trying to ignore the cold liquid soaking into his clothes. Before he could manage to get out an apology, the stranger was already yelling. 

“Are you kidding me!?” Jisung flinched at his words. “What is wrong with you? Can’t you see where you are going?” Jisung opened his mouth to respond, but he didn’t get the chance. “I have an interview in ten minutes and now I’m soaked thanks to you!” Jisung understood that he was mad, but he wasn’t even giving Jisung the chance to speak. Not to mention he was insulting him. 

Jisung gave up on apologizing. “I don’t know if you noticed, but it got on me too. I didn’t do it on purpose.” Jisung tried to control the bite in his words. 

“You should watch where you are going!” 

“I’m sorry! Okay?” Jisung knew this was his fault, but he still didn’t like being yelled at. 

“Whatever.” The man brushed past him in a way that made Jisung stumbled backwards. Jisung huffed, crushing the already mangled cup even more in his hand. 

Jisung had to stop by a small clothing shop on the way back to his dorm to buy a few new clothes since he hadn’t brought much with him. As he soaked his coffee-stained shirt in the sink of the dorm bathroom, he sighed heavily. This first day was nothing is not eventful. Jisung had surprised himself by already making some friends, but he was also pretty sure he had already made an enemy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter are kind of short, so here is another one.

Jisung fiddled with his hands as he sat in the empty classroom. He was feeling extra nervous so he decided to get to his first class extra early. However, he might have decided to show up a little _too_ early because he was the only on in the classroom.

He had already been staying in the dorm for a few days and Changbin and Felix had helped him get accustomed to things around campus. They were helping him feel more and more comfortable, but he was still anxious about actually starting classes. 

Jisung nearly jumped out of his skin when someone slid into the seat next to him. 

“Is this seat taken?” a boy asked with a smile. 

Pretending he didn’t almost have a heart attack, Jisung smiled shyly. “No . . . I guess not.”

“You seemed kind of lonely, so I thought I’d keep you company until the class starts.”

Jisung offered him a grateful look. “I’m Jisung,” he offered. 

“Chan.” He had a nice smile. 

The two continued to chat as students slowly began to flow into the room. Jisung was surprised when he saw a familiar face slide into the seat next to Chan. He blinked in confusion as the two happily greeted each other. 

“Changbin?” Jisung wondered aloud. “You two know each other?”

“Jisung!” Changbin greeted happily. “I almost didn’t see you there. Ah, yeah. Chan and I have been friends since our first year. I need to introduce you to the rest of our group. I think you will really like them.”

“You already know him?” Chan questioned. 

“He’s Lix and I’s neighbor. He’s a transfer.”

Chan spun all the way around so he was now fully facing Jisung. “Are you doing anything for lunch? You should come with us to the library. We can introduce you to the rest of our friends.”

Jisung bit his lip, nervous. “Are you sure? You only just met me.”

Chan waved his hand in the air dismissively. “You seem nice. Besides, you already seem to get along with Changbin. _And_ you are in a music theory and composition class.” He gestured to the classroom. “I think you will fit right in.”

Jisung smiled. 

Jisung was carrying his food close to his chest as he carefully scanned his surroundings for the building Chan and Changbin told him about. It was because he was searching so intently that he didn’t notice the _giant crack in the pavement_. Jisung stumbled forward, barely managing to keep his grip on his meal. He was surprised when he felt someone actually catch him, saving him from faceplanting onto concrete. This helpful mystery person helped steady Jisung on his feet and he was feeling incredibly lucky. 

“Are you al— oh, it’s you again.”

Jisung’s mood immediately fell and he already knew who he was going to see when he looked up. 

“Did you learn literally nothing from last time. _Watch where you are going_. And stop causing other people trouble.” Jisung’s mood immediately soured. Of course he just had to run into the same rude stranger he had spilled coffee on. He had managed to avoid him up until this point, but the second he loses his balance again the evil stranger is back. He was like a curse. 

“What is with you? You help me up and then you yell at me? Why even help me at all?” 

“Maybe I shouldn’t have. Maybe then you would actually learn.”

This was ridiculous. How can somebody have so little regard for other people? Or maybe it wasn’t that he didn’t care about other people, but that he had something specifically against Jisung. The stranger had started to apologize before he saw Jisung’s face. 

“What do you have against me?” Jisung was heated. He seriously didn’t know what this guy’s problem was. Sure, Jisung spilled coffee on him, but that was _one_ time and it was a complete accident.

“Hmm, let me think about it.” The stranger was not too much taller than him, but his glare made Jisung feel like he was so much smaller. “Maybe it’s because you slammed into me and completely ruined my favorite shirt right before an important interview. And _maybe_ I have the right to be upset when you waste my time _again_ because you _still_ haven’t learned to look where you are going.”

“You didn’t _have_ to help me!” Jisung fired back. 

“Whatever.”

And, with that, the stranger left on the same line he had last time. Jisung rolled his eyes. He was so dramatic.

By the time Jisung actually made it to the library, he had managed to calm himself down. Chan was waiting for him at the entrance with a smile. 

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

As Chan led him up the stairs a question bubbled to the surface in Jisung’s head. 

“Are you allowed to eat your lunch in the library? I didn’t see anyone else with food . . .”

Chan waved his hand dismissively. “The librarian is cool. As long as we clean up after ourselves we are free to eat whatever in here. Besides, it’s not like we are bothering anyone.”

Jisung shrugged. That was fair enough. 

Chan led Jisung past several book cases to a table that was more or less hidden away from the rest of the library patrons. Jisung immediately spotted the five students all seated around a rather large table. Changbin and Felix immediately caught his eye, but the other faces were new. Everyone looked up to the new arrivals.

“Alright,” Chan said, clapping his hands. “Time for introductions.” He swooped his hands to gesture at Jisung. “This is Jisung. He lives by Felix and Changbin and is also majoring in Music Production.” With his introduction out of the way, Chan moved on to introduce Jisung to those in the group he didn’t recognize. 

“That is Hwang Hyunjin.” The man in question smiled brightly and waved. His dark hair was long enough to viably pull back, contrasting to the comparably shorter hairstyles of the others. He was also strikingly handsome. Not that the others weren’t—this was honestly an abnormally good-looking group of friends—but Hyunjin really stood out among them. “He’s a Dance major, like Felix.”

“And his roommate, Kim Seungmin.” The boy beside Hyunjin smiled lightly, lifting his hand in a brief greeting. Seungmin’s light brown hair touched the tops on his silver-rimmed circular glasses. Jisung also noticed his hand resting on a book in front of him, as if marking where he had stopped reading. Another pair of seemingly opposite roommates. Hyunjin seemed to be rather high energy whereas Seungmin seemed a little more reserved. However, Jisung was sure his opinions of everyone would change as he got to know them better. “He’s majoring in Photography. He’s also in the Supernatural Club.” Jisung raised his eyebrow at this, but allowed Chan to continue with the introductions uninterrupted.”

“That’s Yang Jeongin.” An auburn-haired boy smiled widely at Jisung. Jisung was taken aback but just how adorable he was. From the genuinely happy smile to the braces Jisung caught sight of, this boy seemed young and innocent and like someone he would never want to see hurt. “He’s a first year, but we have known him for a while now. He’s majoring in Early Childhood Education.”

“Aaaand, there’s Minho.” Chan gestured to an empty seat. “He had a job interview during lunch today, so he couldn’t make it. I will have to introduce him to you later, I guess. Anyways, feel free to have a seat.”

And that was the beginning of something irreversible. Before Jisung could even take his first bite of his food, he was being attacked with questions that he was more than happy to answer. Where was he from? Why did he come here? Why did he want to study music? Was his hair naturally brown? Did he watch the series they were all obsessed with? 

Jisung found himself laughing and smiling along with everyone, and he just felt so _welcome_. 

“Alright,” Felix said with a smile. “I think we have bombarded you with enough questions. It’s your turn. Ask us anything.” The others nodded along to his words. Jisung felt the pressure immediately. 

He bit his lip, thinking for a moment. “Seungmin,” he began, catching the other’s attention. “I am actually really curious about something.”

“What is it?” Suengmin inquired, tilting his head. 

“Chan said you were in the Supernatural Club. I didn’t know colleges had clubs like that, so I was wondering why you were in it and what you actually do in a club like that.”

“Oh,” Seungmin looked away shyly, wringing his hands. “I don’t think most schools have clubs like this. But Orchidview is different.”

“Yeah, I don’t know how you didn’t hear about anything before coming here,” Felix added. “People like to start a lot of rumors about this place.” Now Jisung was intrigued. 

“What kind of rumors. You mean, like, fairies and vampires? That sort of thing?”

Changbin shrugged. “I mean, I have heard quite a few fairy stories, but I don’t believe any of it.”

“But Seungmin does?” Jisung questioned. “I don’t know. I guess he just kind of seemed like the more rational one to me.”

“There’s no reason the supernatural can’t be rationalized,” Seungmin said with a shrug. Jisung figured that was fair enough.

“Just don’t go into the forest at night,” Hyunjin teased. “Who knows what would happen.”

“I don’t think that’s ever a good idea, supernatural forces or not,” Jeongin defended. Everyone laughed. Jisung could tell he was really going to like it here.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter, just to really get things started. And since it's still the weekend.

Yang Jeongin was a freshman, but he didn’t feel like one. He already had friend sthat were more than happy to welcome him to campus. Orchidview had been Jeongin’s home for as long as he could remember and he had made some of the greatest friends there. But that was just the thing. The phrase “as long as he could remember” meant something a little different fro Jeongin. 

Jeongin was born in Orchidview, that much he was sure of. He even remembered beginning to grow up there, going through preschool and kindergarten. However, there was a space in Jeongin’s life that he couldn’t recall, no matter how hard he tried.

Jeongin has heard the story of his disappearance countless times, but that never made it feel any more real to him. Or, he should say disappearanc _es_. The first time was a little more infamous in the relatively small town. 

The first time Jeongin disappeared, he was only six when he wondered into the forest searching for a ball. He was playing a game with his older brother and had missed the ball that was thrown to him. Naturally, he went after it. This part Jeongin remembered. He could still vividly recall trudging through the brush among the trees, looking for the ball. He remember finally retrieving it only to turn around and realize he could no longer see his backyard. But after that, there was nothing. 

He had been told the story a million times. He was gone for over twenty-four hours. The entire town was looking for him in those woods. But they didn’t find him; his mother did. She said she had been getting ready to go to bed after a long day of searching and, when she passed his room, he was sitting on his bed like he had never been gone. She insists to this day he almost gave her a heart attack and he didn’t blame her. 

Apparently, people tried to question him endlessly, but he insisted he had never been gone; that he had never gone into the forest at all. It got to a point where some people began to question the original story while others chalked the reaction up to trauma. Either way, he was back. However, Jeongin remembered none of this. In fact, this was only the beginning of the blank space in his memories.

The second disappearance was when Jeongin was sixteen. This time, less people seemed to care. Jeongin had been told he simply didn’t return home one day. Too many people assumed that he was just being an irresponsible teenager and had run off somewhere. No one had explicitly seen him wander off this time, so people were less concerned. His parents searched for him for two days before he was found. Jeongin remembered wandering into his backyard, shivering from the chilling autumn breeze. It had been the middle of the night and he had no idea why he was outside. His parents thought someone had broken into the house when he tried to open the back door. He remembered them crying when they saw him and throwing a blanket over his shoulder’s. Everything after that was clear. 

The space between those two disappearances was what Jeongin couldn't recall. He didn’t remember growing up. He felt like he had missed so much of his life. The therapists he was taken to said it was most likely trauma. No one knew what happened to him in the forest either of the times he went missing, but they figure something terrible must have happened the second. They told him his brain was probably just connecting the two events in his head because they seemed so similar. If something traumatic had happened to him, it wouldn’t bee too odd for Jeongin’s memory to be jumbled. However, Jeongin had also been told that the memories would probably come back as he recognised things from the time in between, but that hasn’t been that case. Jeongin was eighteen now and he still had absolutely zero memories from the first time he disappeared to the second. 

Jeongin wondered every day what had happened to him that second time he disappeared. This time, he didn’t even remember walking into the woods. He remembered nothing. He wondered what could have been traumatic enough for his brain to take away ten years worth of memories from him. 

Jeongin figured he should probably be afraid of the forest after an experience like that, but still, something about it fascinated him. He almost felt drawn to it and the secrets it kept from him. He longed ever so much to wander back in there and figure out just what had happened to him, but fear stopped him every time. The idea of getting lost again and losing even more of himself provided Jeongin just the fear he needed to keep away from the trees that seemed to call to him. 

The friends Jeongin had now were ones he remembered making. They were always there for him and didn’t care about his odd past. Kids still teased him about being the missing boy, but his friends were always there to defend him. And now Jisung had made his way into Jeongin’s life and he could already tell they were going to get along well. 

Now all Jeongin had to do was manage to focus on his studies as he started his first year of college.


	4. Chapter 4

Felix kicked his shoes off as he walked into him dorm, body aching after a long day. It was already almost ten o’clock and Felix was ready to fall asleep where he stood. The semester had only just begun and he was already exhausted trying to juggle two different jobs along with his studies. 

“Finallyyyy.” Changbin groaned from his bed, turning around to stare at Felix as he closed the door behind him. “It’s so late!”

“Sorry,” Felix apologized genuinely, drawing out the word. “Were you waiting for me?”

“Feliiiixxx,” Changbin whined as Felix walked over to stand beside him. “You told me we could watch a movie tonight. Remember?” 

Felix flinched. “I am so sorry! I totally forgot!” Felix felt awful as Changbin sat there pouting at him, movie already up on his laptop. “I’ll go wash my face and change into pajamas. Can you wait just a little longer?”

Changbin clicked his tongue, turning to face his computer. “Fine. But be quick.”

Felix smiled. Changbin could be so cute when he was pouty, but Felix really did feel bad for making him wait. He had completely forgotten that they had planned this. He raced to the bathroom after grabbing a change of clothes. 

Changbin was still waiting in the same place when Felix got back. He turned when Felix entered the room, scooting over on his bed and patting the space beside him. Felix giggled and slid under the covers beside his roommate. He fought back a yawn as Changbin started the movie they had agreed upon. 

As the movie progressed, Felix found himself getting distracted by Changbin’s steady breathing. He felt so comfortable cuddled up so close to him to stare at the laptop screen. All of the strain Felix had put on his body during the day was really hitting him hard and he couldn’t help his eyelids from fluttering. 

Felix shook his head, trying to stay focused on the plot of the film, but he was unable to hold back a long yawn. Felix frowned when Changbin stopped the movie. 

“Why?” Felix asked sleepily. 

Changbin turned to look at him. “Felix, it’s clear you are tired. I’m not trying to keep you up when you need sleep.”

Felix shook his head stubbornly, pulling himself to sit up further on the bed. “No no, I’m fine.” He fought back a yawn, refusing to prove Changbin’s point. “Besides, I told you I would watch a movie with you tonight.”

Changbin frowned and closed the laptop.

Felix opened his mouth, upset. “Why did you do that?” 

Changbin fixed Felix with a steady gaze. “Felix. I know you. I can see that you are tired. You were almost falling asleep a second ago. You need to get some rest.”

“But—” Felix begin indignantly. 

“We can finish the movie another time,” Chanbin interrupted. “Or even start it from the beginning. I have a feeling you weren’t actually paying that much attention to it.”

Felix pouted. “Yes I was.”

Changbin laughed lightly. “Sure you were.” Changbin gave him a light nudge. “Now get to bed.”

Felix groaned. “I don’t want to moooove.”

Changbin gave him a look of utter disbelief. “So one second you are awake enough to watch a movie and the next you are too tired to move? What are you playing at, Lee Felix?”

Felix heaved a heavy sigh. “Fine. I’m tired. But really, I don’t want to get up. Let me sleep here.”

Changbin sighed, moving his laptop to his bedside table and beginning to move. “Fine, I’ll sleep in your bed tonight.”

As Changbin tried to slide out of the bed, Felix grabbed his arm. “No. Stay. You’re warm.”

Changbin hesitated. “Felix,” he said softly. Felix was too tired to care about what he was doing. 

“It’s fine.” Changbin hesitated, but he eventually relaxed back into the bed, letting Felix lean on him. 

Felix slept soundly that night. 

Felix reached over to turn off his alarm as it startled him awake only to be confused by the lack of bedside table. Felix sat up, still sleepy, and let his eyes try to adjust to the light. He squinted at where his phone should be, noticing immediately that he wasn’t where he thought he was. He looked over to see his empty bed with his phone lying on the covers, blaring his morning alarm. 

Felix jumped slightly when he felt movement beside him. He looked over to see his roommate reaching up to cover his ears, sinking further into the blankets with a groan. Felix froze. He had completely forgotten he had slept here. He felt his body heat up in embarrassment. He couldn’t believe he had begged Changbin to stay in this bed with him. Changbin must have thought he was so strange. Felix shook his head, shaking the thoughts out of it. He wasn’t weird, he was just tired. He pressed his hands to his warm cheeks, willing them to cool down. 

Changbin groaned again and Felix flinched. He needed to turn off that alarm. 

As carefully as he could, Felix slipped out of the bed, tiptoeing to his phone to shut up his stupid alarm. He always woke up way too early for Changbin’s liking and he hated that he had bothered him extra this morning by not being able to turn the alarm off immediately. 

Felix hurriedly got ready for work at one of his several part time jobs, trying hard to forget about what he had done. Felix had enough on his plate trying to pay off all of his student debt in order to stay at the school due to his unique situation, he didn’t need to be worrying about this too. 

From the moment they met, Felix knew he really lucked out with his roommate. Felix had moved to Orchidview from really far away and was unable to take out loans to pay for his schooling, forcing him to constantly work to afford everything. Being in a new place was scary, but Changbin had immediately made Felix feel welcome and treated him like he was special. Felix loved it. He made Felix long to come back to their room after long days of school and work just to see him. 

Felix sighed, the bell to the coffee shop ringing above his head as he walked in to start his shift. This was going to be a long school year.


	5. Chapter 5

“What do you mean you are out? Can’t you make more?”

Jisung couldn’t help but overhear the customer at the counter as he dug into his fresh strawberry cheesecake. He had never been in this cafe before, but he figured he would give it a try. His schedule had been all over the place the last couple of days, so he had been unable to eat with his new friends. He decided to use these opportunities to try different food on campus and this was definitely his new favorite place on the planet. 

“I’m sorry. We are completely out of the ingredients for the day. We are getting a new shipment tonight.”

“Come on Seonghwa, I literally get the same thing every week. You couldn’t have saved me a piece?”

Jisung felt bad for that poor customer. He could hear just how sad he was and he was really getting invested in the conversation. Not invested enough, however, to actually watch the encounter. Jisung was _way_ too absorbed in his cheesecake for that. 

“I really am sorry. I was going to, really, but a customer just came in and asked for the same thing and I wasn’t going to just not give him what he wanted.”

The customer groaned. “I was really looking forward to that.”

Unable to shake the feeling that the voice of the customer sounded familiar, Jisung turned around to look at the counter only to realize he was right, the customer _was_ familiar, but it wasn’t someone Jisung had planned on seeing again any time soon. 

Almost as if he felt Jisung’s eyes on him, the rude stranger Jisung kept running into met Jisung’s eyes before staring down to the dessert in front of him. His mouth fell open.

“You!?” The stranger cried. “You have got to be kidding me! Of course it was you.”

Jisung took a moment to understand what was going on. Wait. Had he seriously just happened to get the last piece of what that stranger came in to order? What were the chances? 

The stranger ran a hand through his hair, outwardly frustrated. “This has to be some cruel trick of fate. Were you sent to torment me?”

Jisung stuttered in disbelief. “Torment? I have literally done nothing to you.” The stranger raised an eyebrow. “Nothing on purpose!”

“You could at least apologize!” the stranger argued. 

“I am not going to apologize for ordering cheesecake. How was I supposed to know it was the last piece?” This guy really knew how to get on Jisung’s nerves. 

“Hey!” The cashier interrupted their dispute, holding his hands up in front of him. “This was no one’s fault. There is no need to make this a big deal.”

The stranger looked back and forth between Jisung and the worker before heaving a sigh. “Whatever,” he huffed before leaving. 

Jisung was beginning to wonder if that was his catchphrase or something. 

A few days passed and Jisung was finally going to have lunch with his new friends again. He had managed to work out the wrinkles in his schedule and should be able to meet with them far more regularly now. 

Jisung was already drinking his smoothie as he walked up to the table where the others were already sitting. A couple of them noticed, waving him over. As they began to talk and eat and study, Jisung couldn’t help but notice there was still an empty chair at the table. 

“Is Minho not going to be here again today?” he questioned. “I was kind of hoping to meet him.”

It was true. Minho was the only one in the friend group Jisung had yet to meet. Even though he hadn't been able to meet with everyone for lunch the last several days, he still saw everyone around campus and was happy to have friends to interact with no matter where he was. However, Jisung still had yet to meet Minho and his curiosity was only growing. 

“Oh, he should be here soon,” Hyunjin answered brightly. “He texted that he would be running a little late today.”

Excitement and anxiety bubbled in Jisung’s stomach. He knew that he had already gone through meeting all of the rest of the group and things had gone well, but a part of him feared that Minho still wouldn’t like him. But Jisung feared that with everyone. He had been terrified to meet Chan and Changbin’s friends, but they had been so kind and welcoming to him. Jisung honestly couldn’t be more grateful. If they were all so nice, surely Minho wouldn’t be different. 

Jisung found himself getting so caught up in different conversations that he didn't even notice when someone else finally joined them. 

“Minho!” Changbin greeted happily. 

Jisung looked up to see a boy slide into the remaining chair, plopping his meal onto the table. Jisung smiled shyly as a greeting, but he froze on the spot when he met Minho’s eyes. 

“Minho, this is Jisung,” Chan introduced and the words echoed in Jisung’s ears as if they had been yelled into complete silence. Jisung watched in horror as Minho’s kind expression morphed into one of utter disbelief, mouth dropping open. A short silence hung in the air. 

“ _You_?” The tone in Minho’s voice stung and Jisung flinched, but he should have seen it coming. 

“You two know each other?” Jeongin asked, confused.

Minho turned to Chan in exasperation. “This is the guy I have been telling you about! The on that spilled coffee on me before a job interview!”

This could not have gone worse. Jisung buried his head in his hands, mortified. “I didn’t mean to,” he wailed miserably.

“I can’t believe this is the same person you have been talking up,” Minho breathed.

Jisung felt himself begin to shake and he could hear his heartbeat racing as blood rushed to his ears. Of course Minho had to be the stranger Jisung kept running into. He could only imagine how many horrible stories Minho had to have told about him. They were surely all going to hate him now too. Why would they side with Jisung over their friend? 

Jisung knew it was just his anxiety kicking in, but he was suddenly fighting off tears. 

“I—I think I’m going to go.” Jisung barely managed to get the words out before he was stumbling out of the room and down the stairs, leaving his half-eaten lunch behind. 

He was trembling and it felt hard to breathe. He didn’t know what had happened. Whenever Minho argued with him before, he was more than eager to fight back, but everything about that situation felt suffocating and terrifying to Jisung. He was so sure he had made such good friends and he knew in that moment they could all turn in him. It was too much for him to handle. 

Jisung stopped when he made it out of the library, sucking in the fresh air like he was starving for it. It was there he finally gave himself a moment to calm down before his anxiety evolved into a full panic attack. He took several steadying breaths and tried to clear his mind. It was just as he finally managed to collect himself that he heard someone calling his name. 

Jisung turned around to see Chan walking out of the library, eyebrows knit together. 

“Are you okay?” Jisung swallowed hard and nodded. “Listen, I’m really sorry about Minho. I promise, he’s not usually like this.” This caught Jisung off guard. 

“What—What do you mean?”

“He really has been talking about you all week, but we all know he is overreacting. You seem to have just bumped into him at the absolute worst of times. I promise he doesn’t hate you.”

Jisung fixed Chan with a look. “I don’t know about that.”

“Come on,” Chan prompted. “You barely know him. Give him a chance.”

“I don’t think he wants to be around me,” Jisung argued.

“I will make you two get along if it is the last thing I do.” Chan sounded serious about that and Jisung didn’t know wether or not he should be scared. “ _Please_ just come back. Even if you don’t talk to Minho, the rest of us still want you there.”

Jisung really had to think about it. 

“Fine,” he breathed finally. He offered Chan a thankful smile. “And thank you.”

Chan beamed back at him.

Jisung really didn’t talk to Minho during the rest of their lunch. He was pretty sure Minho was pretending like he wasn’t there the entire time, but Jisung supposed that was better than yelling at him. Jisung still enjoyed talking with the others, but he couldn’t help but to watch Minho as well. He had only ever seen the other frowning or scowling, but here he was, laughing and smiling with his friends. It was almost bizarre. 

Jisung almost hated to admit it, but Minho had a beautiful smile. He only wished that it was what he usually got to see of Minho rather than the glare that were usually directed at him. 

Even seeing how friendly Minho was around the others. Jisung still couldn’t forget just how evil he had been to him so far. Chan may want them to get along, but they both had a _long_ way to go to get there.


	6. Chapter 6

Seungmin sat in the library, flipping through the same books he had already been through a hundred times. He knew there had to be something he was missing. He had learned so much over the years, but still nothing added up. The same history books, the same folklore, day after day. There had to be something. 

“Researching the supernatural again, Seungminnie?”

Seungmin didn’t react when Hyunjin placed a hand on his shoulder from behind, clearly trying to startle him. 

“What do you think?” Seungmin asked rhetorically as Hyunjin slid into the seat across from him. 

Hyunjin sighed. “At this rate, you are going to fail your classes because you know more about fairies than you do algebra.”

“Ha ha.” Seungmin had been through this talk with Hyunjin before. He studied hard for all of his classes before he returned to these books. 

“I will never understand what you are looking for in those. You could probably recite them to me forwards and backwards by now.”

Seungmin sighed heavily. “I know. But I still can’t make sense of it. The only answer is that I have to be missing something.”

“That’s because there’s nothing that needs to be made sense of, Seungmin. I would get if you were doing this as a hobby, but you are really beginning to worry me.”

Seungmin shook his head, returning his gaze to the textbook covering the full history of Orchidview. He heard Hyunjin sigh across from him. 

“Just . . . take care of yourself, okay?” Seungmin nodded. 

“I want to join the Supernatural Club.”

Seungmin blinked at Jeongin. “You what?”

Jeongin shrugged. “I want to join the Supernatural Club.” Seungmin squinted at him, suspicious. Very few people ever wanted to actually join the club, let alone any of his friends. “I don’t know. I just think it would be fun.”

“Are you sure?” Seungmin might be wary, but he wasn’t going to turn Jeongin down if he really wanted to join. When the younger stopped him after he got out of class, he didn't know what to expect. This had definitely caught him by surprise. 

Jeongin smiled at him hopefully, nodding his head. “Please. I’m really curious.”

Seungmin smiled. “Okay. We actually have a meeting today, you can come with me. I can introduce you to everyone and you can decide if you really want to stay or not.”

Jeongin beamed. “Thank you!”


	7. Chapter 7

Jeongin was giddy to finally be attending Seungmin’s club with him. All of their other friends seemed to think it was strange, but something about the supernatural intrigued Jeongin. The idea of other beings, both magical and terrifying, greatly intrigued him. The fact that Seungmin never ever talked about the club only made him ever so much more curious. 

The club took place in an extra room on the least-visited floor of the library. Jeongin was actually surprised it wasn’t in the basement if he was being honest. Jeongin was also surprised at the number of members. 

“It’s only you three?” Jeongin asked in disbelief as he stared at the other two boys already in the room when they entered . 

Seungmin smiled awkwardly. “Sometimes Hongjoong’s boyfriend will join, but he’s usually busy working.”

“Are you going to introduce us?” one of the boys asked, standing up. He was on the shorter side with a slight frame and his bright red hair was eye-catching. 

“Oh, this is Jeongin,” Seungmin offed, gesturing to him. Jeongin smiled and waved as the other two club members’ eyes landed on him. They both smiled and waved back and Jeongin wanted to sigh in relief. They seemed friendly. 

Seungmin gestured to the boy with red hair. “Jeongin, this is Hongjoong.” He moved his hand to gesture to the other boy in the room. “And this is Yeosang.” Yeosang’s blonde hair was on the longer side and he had a birthmark just beside his eye. Both boys offered him smiles. 

“Jeongin would like to join the club,” Seungmin explained. 

“Really?” Yeosang questioned, and Jeongin was surprised by how deep his voice was for how soft he looked. 

Seungmin nodded. “Well, welcome!” Hongjoong sang happily. 

“Is there anything new this week?” Seungmin asked as they all slid into seats. 

“A few local kids in town swore something was following them on their camping trip,” Hongjoong offered. “But that could have easily been an animal.”

Jeongin couldn’t hold in his curiosity. “What is it exactly you guys are looking for. Fairies?”

The three original club members shared a look and Jeongin bit his lip. “Not exactly,” Hongjoong responded. 

“More like, strange phenomenon,” Seungmin explained. “Things that can’t easily be explained away.”

“Things like that seem to happen a lot here,” Yeosang explained. 

“And you just . . . talk about these cases?” Jeongin asked, genuinely curious.

“Well, yes. But we also try to figure out just what could have caused them.” Seungmin pulled a book out of his bag. “We use research books like these that document other cases of supposed supernatural beings and try to connect the dots.”

“And have you been able to?” Jeongin questioned. He realized he might be going a little too far with the questions, but this club was far more intriguing then he had first hoped. 

The group frowned. “Not yet,” Yeosang admitted, shaking his head. “But we have spent a lot of time coming up with several theories.” Jeongin nodded along. 

“I have a question for you, Jeongin.” Jeongin looked to Hongjoong, surprised, tilting his head and humming as a way of prompting the other to continue. “Is the reason you are so interested in this because of your disappearances?” 

Jeongin was caught completely off guard. He didn’t know anyone here still knew or cared about that, but he supposed if anyone would know, it would be a club based on the strange phenomena of Orchidview. And Jeongin would be lying if he said his disappearances didn’t have anything to do with why he wanted to join the club. 

Seungmin’s eyes were wide. “I didn’t even think about that!”

“Do you think there might be something more to them?” Yeosang inquired, sounding genuinely curious. “Something supernatural?”

Jeongin shrugged. “The psychologist says it’s trauma, but I really don’t know. It’s all so weird.”

“Seungmin helped form the club for a similar reason,” Hongjoong said thoughtfully. 

Jeongin tilted his head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Hongjoong looked surprised, turning his attention to Seungmin who Jeongin saw was shaking his head. “You didn’t tell him.”

“I don’t really tell anyone,” Seungmin said, ducking his head almost apologetically. “It’s not really about me anyway.”

“I think I will like this club,” Jeongin said with a smile.


	8. Chapter 8

Several weeks into the semester, Jisung already felt like he was home. Schoolwork was still stressful as ever, but now he had genuine friends to help him get through the day. He still didn’t really get along with Minho, but the other had stopped glaring at him every time they were in the same room, so he felt like they were making some kind of progress, even if that meant they had taken to just ignoring each other. 

He already felt so close to these friends that he could hardly believe he had only just met them upon moving to Orchidview. He would go out to eat with Hyunjin and Seungmin. Chan invited him over to study and write music together along with Changbin often. Jeongin became a close friend of his, going almost everywhere with him when their schedules allowed for it. Felix and Changbin invited him over to their dorm on occasion to hang out and sometimes they played games together when none of them had to get up early. Jisung only wished he had a better relationship with Minho. He was still mad about the way Minho had treated him, but he could tell Minho wasn’t a bad person. He wished they could work past their differences, but he also wasn’t willing to be the first one to put in the effort. 

Though his primary friend group remained the same, Jisung also discovered the friendship didn’t exactly end with the seven friends he had already made. He had already met Hongjoong, who was in their composition class and also apparently in the Supernatural Club with Seungmin and now Jeongin. He also discovered that that employee from the cafe that gave him the last piece of cheesecake was Hongjoong’s boyfriend, Seonghwa. These two, along with six others, were apparently a part of a popular dance team on campus. And apparently the friend group Jisung had made his way into was very connected to them. 

“That’s Yunho,” Chan said, pointing out a tall boy with light blue hair and puppy-like features as they sat on a bench eating a late breakfast. “He used to be really close with Seungmin and Hyunjin when they were kids. And that’s his boyfriend with him. Mingi.” A boy almost equally as tall ruffled the other’s hair with a smile.

“What do you mean used to?” Jisung asked curiously. 

Chan shrugged. “They just grew up and grew apart, I guess. Hyunjin still hangs out with him sometimes, but they aren’t nearly as close now.”

“Are the two behind them also in the group?” Jisung’s eyes had caught on two other boys trailing behind the first two. They were noticeably shorter than the other two and Jisung couldn’t help but notice the platforms one of them was wearing. He looked down at his own feet at the platforms he was wearing to give himself an extra coupe inches. He already respected this stranger.

“Yup! That’s Wooyoung and San.”

“Are they a couple too?” Jisung asked, jealous of all of these seemingly perfect relationships. 

Chan laughed heartily. “They might as well be. You aren’t the only one that thinks that.”

Jisung tilted his head in confusion, watching one of the boys pretty much hanging off of the other while giggling. “So they aren’t together?”

Chan smiled, amused. “They will figure things out sooner or later.”

As that group passed, Jisung inquired about the others in the group that he still didn’t know.

“Well, there are only two left. There’s Yeosang who is also in the Supernatural Club. And then there’s Jongho. He is really strong and he and Wooyoung are on the school soccer team. He also helps out with a lot of organizations around school.”

“These people all sound way too good to be real.”

Chan laughed. “Trust me, they are far from perfect. Their hearts are just in the right place.” Jisung aspired to reach that level of friendship with . . . anyone, really. 

As the four boys passed where they were sitting, Jisung’s eyes caught on something he had been too distracted to see before. 

“Is that Hyunjin?” 

Chan followed Jisung’s gaze to see what looked like Hyunjin sitting and on a bench nearby, book in hand. What had caught Jisung’s attention, however, wasn’t Hyunjin, but the girl walking up to him. Both Chan and Jisung watched as the girl nervously pulled a card out of her bag and handed it to Hyunjin before running away. Was that a confession letter? People still did that?

“Did Hyunjin just get himself a girlfriend?” Jisung asked, amazed. No one had ever done anything like that for him and he couldn’t help but be jealous. 

Jisung looked over to see Chan shake his head. “Just watch.”

Jisung did just that. He watched as Hyunjin looked after the girl until she was completely out of sight. For a moment, he just seemed to stare at the card, but them he got up. Jisung watched him make a beeline for the nearest trashcan and throw the card away without ever even opening it. Jisung felt his mouth hang open.

“Why?” Jisung couldn’t even comprehend it. He hadn’t even read the card before tossing it. 

“Hyunjin get cards like that all the time.” Jealousy burned in Jisung’s stomach. He got confessions like that so regularly he just threw them away? “It’s not what you think.” Chan was quick to interject Jisung’s thoughts. “She didn’t really care about him. They never do. They just fall in love with who they think he is.”

“Alright, I’m confused.”

“Hyunjin has always been the pretty boy. People have always treated him differently because of how he looked. Some people let him get away with more because of it. Others mocked him for it. The confessions are a part of that too. They don’t even know him. Not really.” Jisung never thought of it like that. “Hyunjin doesn't want to be treated any differently for something he can’t control. He wants to earn everything through his actions. That’s why he never even reads the cards.”

“I’ve never had friends like you before,” Jising wondered aloud. 

Chan rested a hand on Jisung’s shoulder. “Well you had better get used to it, because you are one of us now.”

Chan’s words were lighthearted, but they warmed Jisung’s heart. He really felt like he had found a new family.


	9. Chapter 9

_Seungmin laughed as he ran in circles, trying to escape Hyunjin, nearly running into Yunho several times. They were playing in the woods behind a nearby park in a small clearing. They could still see they playground from where they were, but they were far enough into the trees to feel like they were playing in another kingdom._

_“Just come here already! I don’t want to be It anymore,” Hyunjin whined._

_“You have to catch us,” Seungmin giggled. “That’s how this works.”_

_Hyunjin plopped himself onto the grass and crossed his arms. “This is no fun.,” he pouted._

_“Oh come on,” Yunho prompted. “Don’t give up now.”_

_“Come on, Hyunjinnie,” Seungmin sang, dancing closer to his friend. “This is loads of fun. You can’t just give up when it’s your turn to be It.”_

_“Yes I can,” Hyunjin argued like the drama queen he was._

_Seungmin groaned in annoyance, knowing his friend wasn’t about to change his mind anytime soon._

_“It will be dark soon anyways,” Yunho reasoned. “We should be getting back.” They all knew he was right._

_And, with that, their little game of tag was over. The friends made it to the road, ready to walk home, when Yunho suddenly stopped, patting his pockets._

_“Wait. I think I left something behind.”_

_“Is it that important?” Seungmin asked, eager to get home before the sun started to go down. He really didn’t want to walk home in the dark._

_“It’s my friendship bracelet. It broke earlier, so I put it in my pocket, but now it’s gone.”_

_That_ was _very important, Seungmin decided. He held up his hand, making sure his was still attached to his wrist and he caught Hyunjin doing the same. “Okay, we’ll go back with you.”_

_Hyunjin and Seungmin followed Yunho to the edge of the trees. “You can wait here. This shouldn’t take long.” Those were Yunho’s last words before he disappeared into the forest._

_Several minutes passed and Hyunjin shot Seungmin a concerned look. “Should we go check on him?”_

_Seungmin shook his head. “He said to wait. I’m sure he will find it soon.”_

_Several more minutes passed and the sun was beginning to go down._

_“Seungmin, I am really beginning to get worried now. We need to go after him.”_

_Seungmin bit his lip, nervously casting a glance at the darkening sky before finally nodding. “Okay.”_

_The pair made their way to the clearing where they had been playing earlier and Yunho was nowhere in sight. A strange feeling settled in Seungmin’s stomach. Fear.  
“Yunho,” Seungmin called shakily. “Yunho, where did you go?”_

_Seungmin felt Hyunjin attach himself to his arm, gripping onto him tightly. “Seungmin,” the other squeaked._

_Seungmin looked over to see that Hyunjin was shaking like a leaf, staring at the ground. Seungmin followed his gaze. A chill ran down Seungmin’s spine and he found himself clutching for Hyunjin even though his friend was already attached to him. Lying just in front of them was an all too familiar bracelet._

_Seungmin was shaking violently as he bent down to pick up the silver chain from the grass, the charms jingling as he brought it closer to his face. The “Y” charm that gleamed back at him made the bracelet unmistakeable; this was Yunho’s. But if the bracelet was here, where was Yunho?_

_Seungmin dragged Hyunjin out of the trees in a panic, clutching the bracelet so hard he could feel it pressing hard into his skin. He stopped just outside of the trees, staring back in. The sky was even darker now._

_“Seungmin. Where’s Yunho?”_

_Seungmin shook his head, the fear really sinking in now. “I don’t know.”_

_“Seungmin, It’s getting dark. I’m scared.”_

_“Me too. But we can’t just leave him behind.”_

_“Then what do we do?”_

_Seungmin gulped. “We wait. Just like Yunho said to.”_

_The sky got darker and darker and nothing changed, Seungmin and Hyunjin stood, shivering, holding each other, as they waited for their friend to emerge from the woods. By the time the stars were fully visible, Seungmin felt like he had completely lost hope. He couldn’t even see well enough to spot the road from where they were. It was too dangerous to go home, but it might be even more dangerous to stay._

_Seungmin didn’t remember falling asleep; all he remembered was being shaken awake by Hyunjin. When he opened his eyes, it was light outside and he could distantly hear someone calling his and Hyunjin’s names._

_Seungmin tried desperately to tell his mother what had happened, how Yunho had never come back. His mother promised him she would talk to Yunho’s mother, but Seungmin never heard anything else about it. He had to wait two more days to find anything else out._

_After worrying himself sick all weekend, Seungmin returned to school the following Monday. When he walked into class that morning he was shocked at who he saw._

_Seungmin gaped at Yunho, sitting at his desk, smiling and talking with one of their classmates like nothing had ever happened. Seungmin yelled out his name, running over to him and throwing his arms around his friend._

_“You’re okay!” Seungmin breathed, releasing Yunho._

_Yunho tilted his head as if confused. “Why wouldn’t I be?”_

_Seungmin’s mouth fell open. “What do you mean? Hyunjin and I waited for you all night when you went into the forest.”_

_Yunho still looked confused. “I really don’t know what you are talking about.”_

_Seungmin waved his hands around in exasperation as if that helped explain anything. In the end all he got out was a pained, “what?”_

_“Oh, that’s a pretty bracelet you have,” Yunho said with a smile. Goosebumps raised on Seungmin’s arms._

_“It’s . . . it’s our friendship bracelet.” Seungmin offered the words with a hope that Yunho was just messing with him._

_“Oh, you and Hyunjin? I think I saw him wearing something like that earlier. That’s really cool.”_

_“Right,” Seungmin breathed, shivering. Was this real? Seungmin wanted to be happy that his friend was okay when he had been so concerned about him, but something just didn’t feel right. Why didn’t Yunho remember that all three of them had matching bracelets? Why didn’t he remember going into the woods._

_“We should hang out after school today,” Yunho offered, smiling brightly. “You and Hyunjin can come to my place again. We got a new trampoline last week.”_

_Seungmin nodded and gave a smile he didn’t feel before retreating. As he slid into his seat, Seungmin felt off. Something wasn’t right about this and he knew it. If only he knew what it was._


	10. Chapter 10

Seungmin rolled the chain between his fingers, staring down at the bracelet as his friends talked around him. The silver “Y” burned a familiar hole in his memory. It had been almost ten years, but the memories still haunted him.

“So he thinks there is something supernatural going on with Yunho?” Jeongin asked, addressing the other members of the Supernatural Club.

“No,” Seungmin defended. “I know there is. I watched him walk into the woods and never come back out.”

“He could have made it out after you left or while you were sleeping,” Yeosang reasoned. 

“That’s what Hyunjin said too, but it just doesn’t make sense to me. Going home without telling us? And without us hearing anything about him getting home late or being missing?”

“It’s possible,” Yeosang defended. 

“And he hasn’t been himself since he got back,” Seungmin continued. “His personality is almost the same, but there are things he couldn’t remember, things that don't make any sense to forget.”

“It could be trauma,” Jeongin reasoned. “That’s what they said it was for me. If something happened to him in the woods, it would make sense for him to try to forget anything about it. Trauma can make you forget a lot of weird things.”

“He forgot is own birthday,” Seungmin pressed. “And his favorite food. It was like he didn’t remember _himself_.” Seungmin slipped the bracelet back into his bag. 

“He remembered you, didn’t he?” Hongjoong asked, already knowing the answer. 

Seungmin knew he didn’t need to say yes. “Why are you all trying to rationalize this, anyways? This is the Supernatural Club. We are supposed to find supernatural explanations for things.” Seungmin was pouting. He had shared a very important story with them and they were trying to disprove his theories.

“We are just playing devil’s advocate,” Hongjoong explained. “We can find holes in your memory by pressing with questions like that.” He walked over to Seungmin to set a hand on his shoulder. “You should already know we will help you research this. You told us a very vague version of this when we made this club. It’s only right we try to solve this mystery. Especially since Yunho is a close friend of ours.”

Seungmin nodded. “Thanks.”

Seungmin walked with Jeongin to their lunch spot the next day and he should not have been surprised that Jeongin hadn’t forgotten about their club discussion.

“Do you really think something happened to Yunho that day?” Jeongin inquired curiously. 

Seungmin bit his lip. “I really do. But I don’t really want that getting around. People will think I have something against him now, and I really don’t.”

Jeongin nodded in understanding and Seungmin was relieved. “Can I ask a question, though?” Seungmin nodded. “Why doesn’t Hyunjin think something is weird about everything. He was there that day too.”

Seungmin sighed. “Hyunjin cares too much about other people to doubt them sometimes. Yunho was so close to us that Hyunjin believed he had a good reason for not telling us what happened that night. He knows what I think about the situation, but he doesn’t believe in this kind of stuff.”

“I see. Well, I believe you.” Seungmin smiled at his friend’s words. “And maybe if we figure out what happened to Yunho, we can figure out what happened to me that made me lose my memories.” Jeongin said it so innocently, so matter-of-factly, that it made Seungmin’s heart ache. He always forgot that Jeongin couldn’t remember several years of his life. It was bizarre to Seungmin, but he should have considered the possibility of something supernatural sooner.

When the two made it to their table in the library the only two already there were Jisung and Minho. Seungmin shook his head at the sight. They were seated as far from each other as possible and it was clear they were each pretending like the other didn’t exist. Seungmin wished they would stop being so childish soon and just become friends. They weren’t exactly fighting, but it was obnoxious watching them dance around each other like they were. 

When Seungmin and Jeongin sat at the table, they were unsure who exactly to talk to. They both knew they couldn’t hold a solid conversation with both Minho and Jisung at the same time and it would be strange to simply ignore one of them. They really had to make things complicated. Luckily, the rest of their friends began arriving just after them, so they didn’t have to worry about it for long. 

As Chan, Changbin, and Jisung argued over a class project and Hyunjin tried to explain a new tv series to Minho, Seungmin pulled out his phone and shot a text to Jeongin reading “We need to do something about them. If they don’t make friends soon I’m going to lose my mind.”

Jeongin looked up from his conversation with Felix to meet Seungmin’s eyes. “I know,” he mouthed, and they both laughed. 

“Seungminnie, what are you being secretive about,” Hyunjin whined, slinging his arm over Seungmin’s shoulder. Seungmin rolled his eyes and showed Hyunjin his phone screen under the table. Hyunjin snickered and Seungmin flinched. Too much attention was being drawn to something he was trying to keep hidden. “If only.”

“Hyunjin, shouldn’t you be studying for a test?” Seungmin prompted.

Hyunjin’s eyes widened. “Oh no, you’re right! I forgot that was tomorrow!” Hyunjin promptly detached himself from Seungmin to start rustling through his bag for his notes. 

“You guys seem really busy. A group project, a test. I haven’t been doing much extra recently,” Jeongin noted. 

“You must have some really great professors,” Chan mused. “Most of them decide to double down on work at about this time every year.”

Jisung tilted his head in confusion. “Really? Why?”

“Because it’s almost Halloween,” Seungmin explained. “People around here get really caught up in the holiday. Teachers know that students will probably get really distracted very soon, so they are trying to give out a bunch of work before the madness.”

“It really gets that crazy?” Jisung seemed amazed and Seungmin couldn’t blame him. Felix had been really confused his first year here too. To people who weren’t used to this town, the obsession with Halloween would seem very strange.

Everyone nodded. “Speaking of crazy, aren’t Wooyoung and the others hosting a Halloween party soon?” Changbin seemed excited. 

“Oh yeah!” Felix exclaimed. “That was so fun last year!”

“We’re all going, right?” Hyunjin asked, but the way he said it made it feel like there wasn’t really an option. 

A chorus of affirmations followed from everyone except for Jisung. Naturally, all eyes turned to him. He bit his lip, looking nervously between everyone and Seungmin felt for him. 

“I don’t know . . .” Jisung offered, unsure. “I’m not really much for parties.”

Hyunjin waved his hand in the air dismissively. “This isn’t the crazy college party you are probably imagining in your head. The dance crew rents the campus ballroom and there’s not drinking or anything like that. Or, at least, not that we know of or get involved in.”

Jisung fidgeted with his hands. Seungmin decided to try to help out a little as well. “It really is a safe environment. It’s a lot of fun, really.”

Jisung sighed. “It’s not that. It’s just . . . I’m not usually good with crowds of people.” Seungmin could practically feel how nervous he was. He could tell Jisung wanted to go to be with them, but he could also tell how scared he was. 

“We will all be with you,” Chan offered for comfort. We just ask that you try. Come with us and, if you don’t like it, I will personally walk you back to your dorm.”

Jisung put his hands up. “No you don’t have to. I don’t want to ruin your night if I can’t handle it.”

“Any of us would do it,” Felix said with a smile. “You’re not ruining anything for anyone.”

Jisung almost looked like he was going to cry as he looked between everyone with a smile. “Thank you. I’ll give it a shot.”

“Time to start thinking of costume ideas!” Jeongin sang.


	11. Chapter 11

“Come on, Chanbin,” Felix yelled back into bathroom, opening the door to see Changbin trying to touch up his makeup. Felix clicked his tongue as he almost watched the other mess up his entire look. 

“Anymore of that and it will just look like you are wearing lipstick,” Felix reprimanded, snatching the red gloss from Changbin’s hands. “It’s supposed to look like blood.”

“It’s fine,” Changbin argued. “It probably won’t last past the first ten minutes of the party anyways.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Just come on. Jisung is waiting for us.”

When the two left the bathroom, Jisung was waiting for them both, rubbing his arm self-consciously. “You both look amazing,” he said with a light smile. 

“Thanks!” Felix beamed. “You look great too.”

Changbin and Felix had decided to dress as a vampire and a fairy, respectively. Changbin went for the more traditional vampire look, but Felix had more inspiration for his fairy costume. He wasn’t dressed like the traditional, cute fairy, like what you would see in a children's book. Instead, he based his costume off of the actual folklore of fairies, keeping the wings and the pointed ears, but incorporating elements of nature rather than rainbows and sparkles. Felix liked the idea of fairies being the more terrifying versions of themselves they were meant to be before they were romanticized by modern media. 

Jisung was dressed like a skeleton. The outfit was what mostly sold the look as, but Jisung had also done a small amount of makeup on his face to draw skeleton-like teeth on his cheeks. Somehow he made it look more cute than scary. Felix figured it might have something to do with just how timid he looked. 

“The others said they’d meet us outside of the building so we can go in together,” Changbin explained. “So let’s not keep them waiting.”

“You’re the one who was taking your sweet time,” Felix argued as they made their way out of the dorm. 

The sun had only just begun to go down and the autumn air was biting as it blew past them. Not many leaves had begun to fall yet, but the ones that did decorated the pavement in a way that created the perfect atmosphere for an October night. 

As they walked, Felix marveled at all of the decorations strung up and laid out around the campus. He had been absolutely amazed at the level of festivity for Halloween his first year at Orchidview. He looked over to see Jisung looking around in awe. It really almost felt like another world. 

When the entrance to the hall was in sight, it was easy to spot their friends waiting for them. Jeongin was the first to spot them, breaking away from whatever conversation they were having to wave at them. He was dressed in all white and looked far paler than usual. It took Felix a moment to realize he must be dressed as a ghost. 

“Finally,” Hyunjin announced dramatically. Hyunjin was already the tallest of the bunch, but his pointed witch hat only made him stand out even more. 

“We’re not that late,” Changbin shot back.

“Let’s just hurry up and go in. I want the food.” Felix almost laughed at Chan’s enthusiasm. Two furry gray ears poked out from Chan’s frizzy blond hair and Felix found the werewolf costume fitting for someone who so clearly seemed to be craving meat at the moment. 

“Wait, I want to see everyone’s costumes before you all disappear for the night,” Felix said, stopping them before they could all rush in. They almost all collectively groaned before trying to separate themselves from the pack to showcase their costumes as quickly as possible. 

Felix quickly took in the costumes he hadn’t noticed yet. Minho was dressed as a zombie and Felix was impressed with the special effects makeup the other used. Seungmin was wrapped in bandages and it wasn’t difficult to tell that he was a mummy. He had also opted to wear his glasses rather than contacts, so he looked more soft than scary. 

“Okay, we’re good.” Before Felix could even finish his sentence they were rushing in. They moved as a mass into the building and up the escalator. The ballroom doors were open and the lighting as soon as they entered the room was totally different from the hall; darker, more colorful. Excitement built within Felix. They didn’t go to parties often so this was like a special occasion. 

Hongjoong darted over to greet them as they entered as if he had been waiting for them. His hair was slicked back and he was wearing deep red contacts. “Finally! I got scared you weren’t coming for a moment,” he greeted with a bright smile, flashing the fake fangs in his mouth. 

“Like we could miss this!” Hyunjin looked more excited than Felix had seen him in a while. He had been pretty overloaded with schoolwork lately and it was clear this was relieving his stress. And, with that, he was dragging Seungmin away into the crowd, likely to play some of the Halloween-themed games the dance crew always set up. 

“Oh, Jisung!” Hongjoong noticed the clearly anxious boy trying to hide behind the group. “I’m glad you could make it. Just let me know if there’s anything I can do for you while you are here. Things can get a little crazy sometimes, but you can always find me or one of the other hosts and we will be more than willing to help out.” Jisung smiled and Felix could tell that Hongjoong’s words genuinely helped him calm down. 

The group split up there, just like Felix knew they inevitably would. Minho, Chan, and Hongjoong left together and Jeongin ended up dragging Jisung away, leaving Felix with Changbin. 

“Looks like we are together, yet again.” Felix turned to Changbin with a smile. 

Changbin shook his head. “As always. I don’t think I can escape you.”

Felix frowned playfully. “Be nice.”

The first half of the night went by like a blur. Hyunjin screamed so loud it could be heard throughout the entire room as he stuck his hand into one of the mystery boxes. Felix and Changbin competed in a contest to see who could wrap their friend in toilet paper the fastest to make them a mummy. They failed miserably and Felix ended up stuck in a cocoon of toilet paper for no reason. Minho won a candy guessing game and spent the rest of his time afterwards carrying around the jar and eating it in front of everyone. 

Felix and Changbin had just finished their own go at the mystery box game when Chan came up to them.

“Having fun?” Chan asked with a bright smile. 

“That’s a silly question and you know it,” Changbin retorted.

“Where did Minho go?” Felix followed up. 

“Oh I left him alone with Jisung.”

Felix’s eyes widened, he opened his mouth to speak, but Changbin beat him to it. “You did what!? Are you serious?”

Chan shrugged. “I have been saying I would make them get along. They just need to get used to each other.”

“They are going to rip each other’s heads off,” Felix replied, shaking his head. 

“Where are they?” Changbin asked curiously. 

Chan pointed to a moderately empty corner. Felix was able to spot their two friends, standing close, but neither was talking to, or even looking at, the other. Felix sighed. 

“Well, you tried,” Changbin offered. 

“Just give them time,” Chan insisted. “I’m sure—” Chan was interrupted as Hyunjin rushed up to them, looking worried. 

“Have any of you seen Jeongin? I haven’t been able to find him anywhere.”

Felix looked between his friends worriedly. Everyone shook their heads. 

“I’m sure he’s around here somewhere,” Chan reasoned. “This place is big.”

Hyunjin shook his head. “Seungmin is still looking right now, but someone said they might have seen him leave.”

“What?” Chan sounded alarmed now. “Why would he leave without telling any of us?”

Hyunjin shook his head hopelessly. “I don’t know. I’m hoping they were mistaken. If you could help look around here that would be great.” They all nodded and Hyunjin disappeared back into the crowd, Chan following soon after. 

“Should we split up and search?” Changbin suggested, clearly as worried as the rest of them.

Felix’s stomach turned at the idea—he didn’t want to be alone in a situation like this—but he knew it was for the best. Felix nodded. “Meet me back here when you are done. I will let Minho and Jisung know about what’s going on.”

When Changbin left Felix turned to head to Jisung and Minho. However, Felix froze when he saw that the two were actually talking. They didn’t look happy, per se, but they didn’t look upset either. This was a huge improvement from how things had been up until this point and Felix couldn’t bring himself to bother them just yet. He would look around himself first. 

Felix searched the crowds restlessly for their friend, asking around desperately for anyone who had seen him. It was now the middle of the night and, if Jeongin really had left, Felix feared he might have gone into the night alone. 

Only after thoroughly searching the room did Felix go back to where he last saw Minho and Jisung. They seemed to actually be holding up a genuine conversation and Felix felt terrible for interrupting it. 

“Have either of you seen Jeongin recently?” Felix asked, flinching as they both turned to him. 

“I was just with him a while ago, but he left saying he had something to do,” Jisung provided. 

“Something to do?” Felix questioned and Jisung shrugged. “Well, no one can find him,” Felix explained. We have been searching all over the ballroom. We think he left.”

“Left?” Minho exclaimed. “It’s almost midnight and it’s dark outside!”

“I know,” Felix breathed, worry only growing by the minute. 

Felix led the two of them back to where he agreed to meet back with Changbin and saw all of their other friends waiting for them. 

“We need to check outside,” Chan said the second they got close. “He’s not here.” Felix could hear the worry dripping from his voice. 

No one argued as the group filed out of the ballroom and into the well-lit halls. They all decided to split up once again, each person being assigned a certain place to look. Most of them ended up with the task of searching different rooms, but Felix was assigned outside. He promised he wouldn't go far until the others met up with him, if it came to that. 

As Felix rode the escalator down, he stared at the glass doors and into the pitch black night beyond them. He shivered. He so dearly hoped Jeongin hadn’t gone out. They had all tried calling their friend several times, but he wasn’t picking up, only worrying them further. 

Felix had to brace himself and take a breath before stepping out the doors into the frigid night air. The street was dimly lit by the lampposts, and Felix looked around not knowing whether or not he was hoping to see someone. He walked a few steps down the sidewalk, pulling out his phone to see if Jeongin had decided call him back. It was one minute until midnight. 

Felix bit his lip nervously and slipped his phone back into his pocket. He was getting ready to turn around and try the other direction when he caught a glimpse of white in his vision. He looked over in time to see what could have very well been a person turning a corner. Felix couldn’t know for sure, but he had a gut feeling that it was Jeongin. The boy had been wearing all white, after all. 

Felix pulled his phone back out to call Chan so he could tell the others to come outside if they hadn't found Jeongin inside. He fidgeted nervously as he waited for his friend to pick up, staring up at the night sky. 

It was cloudy and the lights prevented him from seeing any stars only making the night seemed darker. Felix watched as a large cloud moved to reveal the bright light of the full moon. It wasn’t Halloween yet, but Felix felt like it really could have been. 

Felix breathed a sigh of relief when Chan picked up the call, feeling less alone already.

“Hello?”


	12. Chapter 12

Jisung woke up that morning far more groggily than he was used to. His eyes fluttered open and he was immediately confused by the fact his lights were on. Was he so tired the previous night that he just forgot to turn them off? As he sat up, he groaned; his body was sore. He had had a lot of fun at the party the previous night, but perhaps he have overexerted himself with all of the games. 

Sighing, Jisung slid out of bed, thankful he didn’t have any weekend classes. He wrinkled his nose at a peculiar scent that he almost seemed to stir up by moving. For some reason his room smelled like a fresh pine forest. Maybe he left a window open? Jisung lifted his arms to scrub at his tired eyes and the scent intensified. He looked closer. He was still wearing his costume and it smelled strongly of the forest. He must have _really_ been tired last night. 

Jisung wandered to his dresser, trying to remember when he got back last night. It surely must have been late. The harder he thought the more his memory seemed to allude him. Jisung couldn’t remember going back to the dorm at all. In fact, he couldn’t remember anything after leaving the ballroom to look for Jeongin. 

Heartbeat quickening, Jisung tried hard to remember anything from the night before, panicking when he failed to remember past leaving every time. He had no idea whether or not they had ever even found Jeongin. Jisung was terrified by this memory loss. He may have never been to a party before, but he did everything he possible could to stay safe. He hadn’t drank any alcohol and he had never left his drink unattended. There was no way he had been drugged, so why couldn’t he remember anything from later that night?

Jisung bit his lip, turning from his clothing to search for his phone. He patted around to find it still in his pocket. Pulling it out, he texted Jeongin. He breathed a sigh of relief when the other boy responded almost immediately. At least he was okay. 

Jisung momentarily tossed his thoughts on the previous night out of his head to get ready. Ordinarily, he might have just stayed in his pajamas all day after a late night like that, but Jisung couldn’t very well stay a skeleton all day. Jisung grabbed a change of clothes and trudged to the nearest bathroom to shower and wash off the grime of the previous day. 

Jisung caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror on his way to the showers and flinched at the smeared makeup on his face. He looked like a zombie. And was that a leaf in his hair?

By the time Jisung was out of the shower and standing in front of a mirror, he felt like he had already spent an eternity scrubbing at his skin. The makeup didn’t seem to want to come off of his face and he his nails were somehow caked in dirt. Jisung looked himself in the eyes and asked himself what on earth had happened after that party. 

Jisung walked down the street, trying to find a place to eat lunch. He wanted to go back to that café where he got the amazing cheesecake, but they were closed on Sundays, much to Jisung’s disappointment. Instead, Jisung combed the streets searching for another place that could catch his eye. 

Jisung was about ready to give up when he noticed what seemed to be a small restaurant. He decided it was as good a place as any and made his way inside. It wasn’t particularly busy, but that could also be because Jisung was eating at a rather strange time. The hostess showed him to his seat and he got to work reading the menu. 

“What can I get for you today?”

When Jisung looked up to order he was met with a familiar face. Honestly, he didn’t know why he was so surprised to see Minho standing there waiting to take his order. He seemed to be literally everywhere Jisung went and neither of them was all too happy about it. 

“Oh,” Minho said with a sigh, but, to his credit, he complain any further. 

“You look tired.” The words left Jisung’s mouth before he could stop them. He did. There were bags under Minho’s eyes and he seemed to have less energy than usual. 

“Long night last night,” Minho supplied.

“Yes it was,” Jisung replied as if he remembered it. 

They had talked the previous night, Jisung remembered that much. Up until last night, Minho and Jisung had been trying their hardest to ignore each other. Jisung really didn’t want to admit it, and he probably never would, but he really enjoyed talking with Minho the previous night. They related over a shared love of music and geeked out about their favorite artists. It was almost like, for that night only, Jisung forgot Minho was . . . well, Minho. 

Minho continued to look at Jisung and Jisung realized he was waiting for him to order. Embarrassed, Jisung ordered his lunch and they didn’t talk any more than necessary. As Jisung dug into the remarkably delicious food, he wondered if he and Minho would ever get along like that again. As it was now, Jisung almost felt like nothing had happened at all. 

Jisung decided to spend some more time out after lunch. He invited Jeongin and Felix to go shopping with him, but Felix, of course, was working. Jisung wondered how Felix ever had time to do anything. When he wasn’t in class or studying, Felix was working. Jeongin, however, happily agreed to accompany Jisung. 

Seeing Jeongin smiling and happy as he tried on different outfits in various different shops was almost relieving to Jisung. They had almost lost him last night and so many terrible things could have happened. Honestly, something terrible could have happened and Jisung would have no idea. However, Jeongin seemed perfectly happy and just like his usual bright self. 

The two split up after shopping and Jisung headed back to the dorm alone. He needed to get back and study for a test he knew he had the next day. He had almost made it back to the dorm when he spotted Minho standing awkwardly by the building. Likely against his better judgement, Jisung decided to approach him. 

“Are you waiting for Changbin or something?” Minho jumped a little when Jisung spoke, turning to him quickly. 

He faltered. “Oh, uh . . . yeah.” Minho bit his lip like he was nervous. Jisung had never seen him do that. The bags under his eyes were gone now too.

“Sometimes he goes to meet Felix at work to walk him back to the dorms,” Jisung offered, trying to be helpful. Minho didn’t really seem like himself and Jisung was really curious as to what had him so shaken. Maybe it was something about whatever had happened the night before. 

Minho nodded, shifting back and for on his feet. “Thanks.”

“Okay,” Jisung began, taking a step away. “I’m going to head back to my room now. I hope you find Changbin.”

As Jisung began to walk away, he heard Minho call out to him. 

“Jisung?” Jisung turned around, surprised. “You look nice today.”

Jisung immediately felt heat creep into his cheeks. Did he just hear him right? Was that a compliment? “Th-thanks.” Jisung swiftly turned back around and sped away, embarrassed. 

Obviously Minho was just messing with him, Jisung rationalized as he made it into the dorms. He was quite certain he _didn’t_ look nice today. He was tired and sure that he looked it and he hadn’t tried hard at all for his appearance for the day. Minho didn’t sound sarcastic, but Jisung could never really know. They almost never spoke, after all. 

When Jisung got into his room he threw himself onto his bed. Everything seemed so strange. Jisung went to a party for the first time the previous night and woke up not remembering what happened half of the night. He actually managed to get along with Minho at the parry, even if only for a brief moment, and Minho had just told him he looked nice. It was as if the world had turned itself on top of its head. 

Jisung sighed, burying himself in his blankets. Orchidview really was a weird place.


	13. Chapter 13

Seungmin was terrified. Sitting in the supernatural club meeting, Seungmin didn’t know whether or not to speak his mind. It was been two days since the party and Seungmin still couldn’t remember all that happened that night. After they lost Jeongin everything went downhill. Seungmin woke up in his bed, still fully in costume, not remembering what happened after they left the party. He was beyond relieved when he found out Jeongin was okay. 

Seungmin was scared to admit he didn’t remember anything. His friends were supportive of his belief in the supernatural, but they would never believe it themselves. Seungmin personally feared that something very supernatural had happened, else he would remember what had gone down. The only person he felt he could consult was Jeongin, but not in front of the others in the club. He didn’t want to worry them since it was their party. Seunmgin knew they would blame themselves if anything went wrong. 

“You guys left earlier than usual the other night,” Hongjoong commented. 

Seungmin laughed awkwardly. “Yeah. We meant to stay longer.” He left it at that. 

Seungmin stayed behind after Yeosang and Hongjoong left for the day, stopping Jeongin before he could slip out the door as well. 

“Hey,” Seungmin began nervously. “You’re alright, right?” Seungmin felt silly asking, but he needed to know. 

“Yeah, why?” Jeongin had his bag slung over his shoulder and he was smiling just as brightly as usual. 

“It’s just . . . after the party . . .” Seungmin didn’t know how to word this. He didn’t exactly want Jeongin to know he didn’t remember anything. 

Jeongin tilted his head. “I mean . . . I had a pretty strange dream that night. But I’m fine other than that.”

“Oh. Okay . . .” Seungmin wasn’t sure where to go from here. He decided to just go for it. “It’s just that we couldn’t find you last night after you left the party.”

Jeongin knit his eyebrows together. “But you did find me. Don’t you remember? I went out for air.”

Seungmin froze. “Ah, right. Sorry.” So it really was just Seungmin that forgot. His thoughts were jumbled. 

“I need to get back to my dorm and study. I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow.” Jeongin waved a goodbye with a smile and Seungmin was alone. 

Seungmin didn’t know how to feel. He had no memories of finding Jeongin that night and he didn’t know why. What had happened? How did he even get back to his dorm room? Seungmin didn’t get to talk to Hyunjin about it that morning because the other had to wake up early for a surprise dance evaluation that day. 

Seungmin gathered his things and left the library. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t notice his friend until he was being attacked. Seungmin yelped as Hyunjin threw his arms around him. 

“You scared me,” Seungmin laughed, already feeling less stressed. 

Hyunjin released Seungmin from his embrace, beaming at him. “I figured I would walk you back to the dorm today since I got out of class early.”

Seungmin smiled, letting himself relax. “Well, thanks. I need that today.”

“Did something happen?” Hyunjin asked curiously as they began to walk.

Seunmgin bit his lip, contemplating whether or not he was willing to try this again. Hyunjin already made it clear he didn’t believe any of the crazy theories Seungmin had about their childhood, so Seungmin didn’t know why he felt so ready to try him now. However, when Seungmin looked into Hyunjin’s dark eyes, full of concern, he knew he couldn’t help it. 

“The night of the party,” Seungmin began carefully. “ Do you . . . do you remember finding Jeongin?”

Seungmin waited for Hyunjin to confirm his suspicions, that Seungmin was the only one forgetting anything, but Hyunjin was silent. Seungmin looked over to see him thinking. 

“You know. I don’t think I actually do. I was so stressed when I woke up yesterday morning that I didn’t even have time to think back on things, but I actually don’t think I remember anything after leaving the party to look for him. How did we get back to the dorms?”

Seungmin shook his head in wonder, almost breathing a sigh of relief that he wasn’t the only one. However, he did wonder what hade him and Hyunjin different from Jeongin. “I don’t know. I can’t remember anything either.”

Hyunjin knit his eyebrows together in confusion. “Weird. Did you wake up in your costume too?”

Seungmin nodded even though he knew Hyunjin was watching where he was walking and not him. “I still had my glasses on,” Seungmin said with a small laugh. 

Seungmin looked over to see Hyunjin shiver. “It’s kind of creepy. I wonder why we don’t remember.” He looked to Seungmin. “Can you forget things when you are really tired?”

“It shouldn’t make us forget that much,” Seungmin said thoughtfully. “Besides, were you really that tired at that point?”

Hyunjin frowned. “I mean, kind of, but not really. I don’t know.”

Seungmin was distracted from their conversation by the crowd they were coming up on. They had just made it to one of the busier spots on campus and Seungmin was not looking forward to trying to maneuver through the people. 

Conversation momentarily coming to a halt, the two dove into the mass of people to try to get back to their dorm. A lot of classes were just getting out so the streets were absolutely swarming. It wasn’t long before Seungmin completely lost his friend in the sea of people. 

Seungmin had almost made it out of the fray when he suddenly found himself stumbling. A strong force shoved Seungmin to the side, making him trip, losing his balance. Seungmin found himself falling over the curb and onto the road in slow motion. He hit the pavement hard and looked up to see a car coming directly towards him. Seungmin’s body seized up in fear, his life flashing dramatically before his eyes. 

Seungmin squeezed his eyes closed only to immediately open them when he felt someone grab his arm and pull so hard it knocked the breath out of him. Seungmin was pulled completely off of the ground, stumbling back towards the sidewalk. Seungmin didn’t have time to process anything that was happening as his foot caught on of the curb and he was falling into the arms of his savior. 

Seungmin didn’t even look up to see who saved him, he just hugged whoever it was for dear life and started sobbing. His heart was beating so fast he thought it might seize up and he was trembling like a leaf. 

He heard the person holding him sigh in audible relief. “You scared me.” Seungmin recognized the voice. “Minnie, are you okay?” Hyunjin’s voice was shaking as he hugged Seungmin closer. 

Still shivering violently, Seungmin let go of his friend, taking a step back. He gulped, scrubbing at his tears, and nodded. “I—I think so.” He rubbed his shoulder, which was sore from falling so hard, but he was alive so he couldn’t really complain. “Thank you so much,” Seungmin almost sobbed. 

Hyunjin shook his head. “I’m just thankful I saw you. I was really so scared.” Seungmin could feel the emotion in Hyunjin’s voice. “What happened?”

Seungmin had to take a moment to catch his breath and really think about it. “I think . . . I think someone pushed me.”

Hyunjin was visibly alarmed. “On purpose?”

Seungmin shrugged. “I don’t know. I just . . . want to go back to our room now. Please.”

Hyunjin took Seungmin’s hand. “Of course,” he replied softly. 

Seungmin trailed behind Hyunjin, clinging to him tightly. He didn’t even really know what had just happened, but he was terrified. He could have just died or gotten terribly injured. Hyunjin had quite literally just saved his life. 

When they got back to the dorm Seungmin crawled into bed, feeling detached. Any thoughts of their earlier conversation or the night of the parry had completely left his head. Seungmin couldn’t think of anything but seeing that car coming and feeling himself being pulled away just in time. The scene played on repeat in his brain, a terrifying loop. 

Hyunjin tucked Seungmin in and brought him water. “Are you really sure you are okay?”

Seungmin thought he had calmed down, but that question triggered his tears again. Finding himself unable to speak, lip quivering, Seungmin shook his head. He was relatively sure he was in some state of shock, but he didn’t know what he was supposed to do about it. 

“Is there anything I can do?” Hyunjin’s voice was so sweet and it only made Seungmin cry harder. What had he done to deserve a friend like this?

“Just . . . stay.” It was all Seungmin could ask. He just didn’t want to be alone. 

Hyunjin smiled softly. “Of course.”


	14. Chapter 14

“Sorry! I have to get to work. I told my boss I would come in early today.” Felix stood from their table in the library, swinging his bag over his shoulder. 

“I feel like we never get to see you,” Chan complained with a pout. 

Felix gave Chan a look. “Chan, we literally spent almost the entire day together yesterday.”

Chan continued to pout. “Yeah, but that rarely ever happens. You are always working.”

“That’s not fair,” Felix argued. “You know I have to.”

Chan sighed. “I know, but I still miss you.”

Felix shook his head and smiled. “Dramatic.” He turned to Changbin. “I shouldn’t get back too late today, so I’ll bring food back.”

Changbin smiled. “Nice! Thanks.”

“Anyways, see you all tomorrow.” Felix’s friends said their goodbyes and he was off.

Chan wasn’t wrong, Felix really did work a lot, but he was lucky enough to enjoy his jobs. When Felix opened the door to the coffee shop his boss greeted him happily and he felt almost at home. He had been working there since his first week at Orchidview and it felt like he belonged there. His boss always understood when he needed time and treated him kindly. 

When Felix finished for the day, he waved goodbye happily and left to pick up the food he ordered earlier. Felix swung by Changbin’s favorite restaurant to pick up their food before heading back to the dorm. Felix was so distracted on the walk back that he almost didn’t notice him. Almost. 

Felix froze on the spot, turning to look back into the crowd. He looked for the person he thought he just saw, but he was nowhere. Felix turned back around, shaking his head. His mind must have been playing tricks on him. That couldn’t have been possible. 

Letting the incident slip completely from his mind, Felix made it back to his dorm room. He slipped a hand free from carrying the food to swing the door open. Changbin turned to look at the door and his face lit up when he saw Felix enter with the food. He placed the notebook he had been holding on the bed and stood to greet his friend. Felix saw his face light up when he saw just what food Felix had brought. 

“You are the best roommate ever!” Changbin exclaimed as Felix handed him his food. 

Felix took that to heart and smiled. “I try to be.”

“Though, not perfect,” Changbin mused as he dug into his meal while Felix still tried to open his. He paused before he continued. 

Felix gasped. “What do you mean?” he asked in mock offense, sitting down beside Changbin on the other’s bed.

“I feel like most people would be thrilled to have a roommate that isn’t around much,” Changbin began thoughtfully. “But I wish you were around more.” Felix swore his heart stopped. “You are working all the time. I know you need to, but I miss seeing you.”

Felix’s heart was beating fast. His friends told him they wished he worked less a lot, but this felt different. He felt like he was needed. Instead of expressing how he truly felt, Felix opted to elbow his roommate in the side and laugh. “Shut up.”

And just like that the moment was gone. “Alright, fine. See if I open up like that again.” 

The two continued to talk and joke with each other as they finished their food. When they finished, Felix went to lie on his bed. He watched as Changbin picked up the notebook he had been writing in before he got there and began scribbling in it once again.

“Writing lyrics for class?” Felix questioned curiously. Changbin hummed an affirmation.

“I’m not really happy with it though. I just find it so difficult to find inspiration sometimes.”

“Why’s that?”

Changbin shrugged lazily. “I don’t know. I think it’s because I draw my inspiration from things that happen to me, but my life isn’t all that interesting. I envy Jisung. He can write and compose music inspired by almost anything. He loves getting inspiration from shows, but I just can’t do that.”

Felix nodded in understanding. “Making music that you can connect to is important. Besides, you are interesting. I think you just don’t know where to look.”

Changbin really seemed to think about Felix’s words. He looked up from his writing to give Felix a soft smile. “Thanks.”

Felix settled into bed, scrolling through apps on his phone, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking over to Changbin as he worked. The other had put on his large circular glasses to write and Felix found himself unable to look away. He could feel that Changbin was completely immersed in his writing and Felix loved when he was like this. It would be clear to anyone who saw him that he was doing something he truly cared about. 

Felix hadn’t know Changbin for long, but he never wanted to leave him. Felix clicked with him like he never had anyone before. Felix was also extremely close with Chan and the others, but Changbin was different. From the moment he met him in the dorm room that day he moved in, Felix knew Changbin was special. He was the first to try to make Felix feel comfortable at Orchidview since he was far from home. He gave Felix attention and treated him like he was special. 

He knew he had a crush on Changbin; he realized it halfway through his first year. When Changbin smiled at him it made his heart flutter. When he made Changbin laugh, Felix got butterflies. Felix reveled in Changbin’s company. He just made Felix . . . happy. But he was terrified of this. He loved being close with Changbin, being able to be his friend and be with him all the time, and that was enough for him. Or so he told himself. 

Felix tore his eyes away and set his phone down on the bedside table. Sighing, he buried himself further into his blankets. Clearly noticing him, Changbin got up to turn off the lights and turn on his lamp before continuing his work. 

Felix stared at the now dimly lit ceiling and thought about the day. For some reason, he couldn’t shake the image of the person in the crowd from his mind. Even though he had seen no one there when he looked, the memory still caused a strange feeling to settle in his stomach. 

Reassuring himself that he was just seeing things, Felix closed his eyes and waited for sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Class ended late that night. Already the class was one of the latest on the campus allowed, so the fact that it ran over was mildly annoying. Hyunjin hated walking back to the dorms in the dark. Minho shared the class with him and walked with him some of the way, but their dorms weren’t anywhere close to each other, so they split up about halfway. 

Hyunjin drew his arms in close to himself as the wind blew past him, making him shiver. The autumn air was extra frigid at night and Hyunjin further lamented taking a class that ended so late in the day. The night was almost completely silent save for Hyunjin’s footsteps on the pavement and the sound of leaves skittering in the wind. 

Hyunjin began to zone out on the walk back. That was, until he began to hear his steps echo. Confused, Hyunjin changed his pace. The echoing sound took too long to copy. There was someone behind him. Hyunjin took a breath and tried not to panic as he looked around at the empty streets. It could easily just be another student heading back. 

Hyunjin made it a few more steps before stopping and pretending to check his phone. He realized he might be acting dramatic, but if the other person went around him he could at least relax. When he froze the footsteps stopped. Hyunjin waited for a few seconds, a chill running down his spine. When no sounds followed, he continued walking. Hyunjin almost let out an alarmed sob when he heard the steps behind him again. He was being followed. 

Hyunjin cautioned a glance over his shoulder, regretting it before he even did it. Hyunjin felt his breath catch in his throat and he almost tripped as his legs turned to jelly. The person following him was around his height, thin, with a hood shadowing their face. But what terrified Hyunjin the most was the white mask covering the person’s face. 

Hyunjin’s fight or flight was triggered immediately. Before he even had time to process what was happening, he was running. He stumbled clumsily forward at first, but soon he was barreling full speed towards his dorm, heart racing. Hyunjin felt like vomiting when he heard the footsteps running after him. 

He was already close to the building, so all he could do was hope. Hyunjin almost fell rounding the last corner. He wanted to feel relieved when he saw the building in front of him, but he knew it was too soon. Still running, Hyunjin desperately tried to fish his student ID out of his pocket to unlock the front door. 

Hyunjin’s heart was beating like crazy when he reached the glass door and he had to stop. The fear bounding through him was sickening. Hyunjin sobbed as he almost dropped the keycard trying to swipe it. He gasped when he heard the door unlock, flinging himself inside and slamming it behind him. Hyunjin scrambled away from the door before turning back to look out the glass. 

The hooded figure was standing just outside, almost completely still. Hyunjin shivered violently as they tilted their head almost as if they wondered why Hyunjin had shut them out. Hyunjin remained frozen in shock for a few more moments before finally managing to tear his gaze away from the figure to sprint up the stairs.

Tears were streaming down Hyunjin face when he reached the door to his room. Shivering, he looked over his shoulder in fear before shakily reaching out to open the door. He hiccupped into a sob when the handle refused to move, locked. That was the final straw for him; he finally broke down. Hyunjin finally let himself really cry as he slid his back down the door to the floor, curling up into a ball. 

Hyunjin cried _hard_ , fingers clawing desperately at his skin, at his hair. He still felt so on edge, so _terrified_. It took him a moment to realize the support of the door behind him wasn’t there anymore.

“Hyunjin?”

Hyunjin looked up to barely make out Seungmin through his tear-filled eyes. 

“Min,” Hyunjin barely choked out before reaching out to wrap his arms around his friend’s legs. Seungmin stumbled before reaching down to place a hand gently on the other’s head. He didn’t ask any questions, he just let Hyunjin cling to him and Hyunjin was so grateful. 

Ten minutes later and Hyunjin was shivering in his bed, Seungmin sitting at his feet, rubbing circles on his hand to help calm him down. 

“Can you tell me what happened now?” Seungmin’s voice was careful, not demanding in any way. Hyunjin felt so _safe_. 

“Hyunjin gulped. “There . . . there was someone.”

“Someone?” Seungmin prompted softly. 

Hyunjin took a deep, steadying breath and tried to start from the beginning. “I was walking back from class and someone was following me.”

“You’re sure?” Suengmin didn’t say it like he didn’t believe him, but as if he was trying to figure out the extent of what had happened without prying too much. 

“Yes. They . . . they were wearing a mask. One that covered their entire face. And when I ran, they ran after me.” Hyunjin almost lost his breath at the last sentence, the memory winding him. “When I got into the dorm, they just stood outside . . . staring at me.”

“Hyunjin. That’s terrible. We need to report this to campus security.” Seungmin’s voice was still gentle, but prompting. 

Hyunjin shook his head violently. “No.” He almost choked on the word. “I won’t leave.”

Seungmin shook his head. “Of course not,” he replied gently. “You aren’t going anywhere tonight. It’s too dangerous. We can report it in the morning.”

Hyunjin nodded, feeling choked up again already. He really had the best friend possible. 

“Is there any way these two instances could be connected?” the woman behind the counter asked as Hyunjin and Seungmin stood before her, having just presented both of their stories from the past days. Seungmin hadn’t yet reported the incident where he was almost hit because he didn’t know what the school was supposed to do about crowded streets. He thought it was an accident. Now, with what had just happened the previous night, Hyunjin could tell he was unsure. 

Hyunjin and Seungmin shared a look. “I don’t know,” Seungmin answered for them both.

“Can you think of anyone that would want to harm you?” A valid question given the situation. 

The two shared a look again, concerned, before shaking their heads. “No one.”

“Are you implying there _is_ someone out to get you for no reason?” The woman raised an eyebrow.

Seungmin shook his head, still talking for the both of them. Hyunjin was still badly shaken from the night before. Seungmin had to literally pull him out the front doors of their building to get him here. He hadn’t let go of his friend’s hand the entire way, still grasping it tightly even now. “No. We have nothing to prove we are being targeted at all. My case could very well be an accident, but someone really chased Hyunjin back to the dorms last night.”

Hyunjin could tell Seungmin was getting worked up in his defense and it made something in Hyunjin’s heart flutter. 

“Alright,” the woman said, looking down the computer in front of her. “I will look into it. If you could file a written report as well that would be very helpful.”

Hyunjin grabbed the paper she slid across the desk and went to a corner to fill it out. It asked a lot of specific questions that forced Hyunjin to think back to the previous night in more detail than he ever wanted to. The vivid image of the white mask, staring directly at him in the dark night made him shiver. 

As Hyunjin walked back to the dorm with Seungmin, he voiced the question on his mind. “Do you think they will actually find whoever that was last night?” Hyunjin really didn’t know if it was possible with how much information he had. It could be just about anyone.

Seungmin squeezed his hand. “I hope so.”

“I never thought about it before . . .” Hyunjin mused after some thought. 

“Thought about what?” Seungmin asked, confused. 

“That what happened to you and what happened to me could be related. What if it’s the same person?”

Seungmin shook his head. “That wouldn’t make sense. Who would want to hurt us? I don’t think there has ever been anyone who hates me. Or you, for that matter. They couldn’t possibly be related.”

“But what if there is someone who hates us,” Hyunjin pressed, mind treading worrisomely close to something he didn’t want to imagine.

Seungmin knit his eyebrows together. “But I don’t remember ever doing anything to upset anyone.”

Hyunjin was staring at Seungmin, waiting for him to come to the same conclusion that he had, the same possibility. Feeling his eyes on him, Seungmin turned to look at Hyunjin as they walked. “But what if we did do something. That night . . .” Hyunjin let his words trail off. Knowing he had already said enough and fearing what his mind might conjure if he ventured further into the treacherous depths of his imagination.

Seungmin’s eyes widened in realization. “You mean . . . after the party?”

Hyunjin nodded slowly, slowing down so as not to break eye contact while also not colliding with anything in front of him. “What if we did upset someone? What if that’s why we can’t remember.”

Seungmin shook his head. “I don’t get what you are implying.”

Hyunjin sighed in exasperation. “Neither do I. I’m just saying that anyone could have done anything to us that night and neither one of us would know.”

Seungmin shook his head again. “You are overthinking this. You were only followed because you were alone at night. That’s all.”

Hyunjin bit his lip, tilting his head. “I don’t know . . .”

“If it makes you feel better, we can ask the others what we were doing that night. I’m sure they will be able to tell us that everything was fine.”

“That would make me feel much better, actually,” Hyunjin breathed out, feeling slightly soothed by the suggestion. 

Only after they Hyunjin was safely locked back up in their dorm room did Seungmin actually leave for class. He apologized to Hyunjin countless times for having to leave, but Hyunjin didn’t blame him at all; they had work to do still, even with everything that had happened. 

Hyunjin curled up on his bed, trying his best to focus on the work he was trying to finish before a class he was dreading having to leave for. The more Hyunjin tried to focus on the equations before him, the more is mind wandered. In the back of his mind, no matter how hard he tried to remove it, Hyunjin could constantly hear those footsteps running after him, see that pale mask reflecting the lights from the street lamps, and it haunted him.


	16. Chapter 16

Jisung scanned the spines of the books in front of him for what he was looking for. He needed a book from the library for an upcoming assignment and he was having trouble finding one that suited what he needed. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he turned around to see someone standing right behind him. 

Jisung yelled in surprised and jumped backwards, his elbow colliding painfully with the bookshelf behind him. “Ow,” he mumbled, rubbing the sore spot and looking back up to meet the eyes of the perpetrator. “Minho?”

The man in question offered Jisung an awkward smile and a small “hi.”

“You scared me half to death!” Jisung complained, holding a hand to his heart dramatically. 

“Sorry,” Minho apologized, voice soft. 

Jisung eyed the other warily. That was too easy. Even over something this small, Minho usually would not hesitate to argue with him. They had been talking more lately, but half of their conversations still ended in bickering. A soft “sorry” was more than a little out of character. 

“Are you feeling okay?” Jisung asked, genuinely concerned. 

Minho tilted his head in confusion. “Why do you ask.”

Jisung was silent, squinting at the person in front of him. Was this really Minho? “No reason,” he replied skeptically. “What are you doing here anyways? I thought you had work soon.”

“Oh, uh. I do. I just . . . needed something from the library first.”

“From the culinary section?” Jisung asked, raising on eyebrow. 

Minho nodded. “By boss asked for a book. There is a new recipe she wants to add to the menu, and there is a certain book with the recipe she wanted.”

Jisung let his guard down. “Fair enough. I was just looking for something to write about for a project for one of my classes.”

“And why are _you_ in the culinary section?” Now that sounded more like the Minho he knew.

Jisung laughed awkwardly. “This isn’t the first place I have tried. I just can’t seem to find anything interesting enough to write about.” Jisung sighed and hung his head. 

“You’re good at a lot of things, I’m sure you will find something.” Jisung’s head shot up at the comment. Did Minho just compliment him? The last time that happened was that day he was in front of Jisung’s dorm building and Jisung had almost managed to completely wipe that from his brain. 

“What?” Jisung couldn’t figure out what else to say and he felt stupid. That compliment had just completely thrown him for a loop. 

Minho shrugged nonchalantly. “Do you want some help?”

Jisung opened and closed his mouth like a fish. “ . . . I guess?” This was bizarre. 

Minho really did help him scour that floor of the library for a book (there were way too many floors to bother looking anywhere else at this point). Jisung was enjoying the help and being able to spend time with Minho without arguing, but he couldn’t shake just how weird it was. Not to mention the fact that Minho kept throwing little compliments his way every once in a while, completely flustering him. 

Later that same day Jisung decided he was craving food from the restaurant where Minho worked. Jisung didn’t really need to see Minho twice in one day—it was a bit much for his nerves, usually—but he just couldn’t get that dish out of his head. 

Minho was his waiter. Minho was always his waiter. Jisung opened his mouth to order only to be interrupted by the other. 

“No need. I already know what you want.”

Jisung was sure he did, but that didn’t stop him from arguing. “Oh really?” he folded his arms. “And what if I was going to order something different this time?”

Minho folded his arms and stared Jisung down. “Were you?” It was a challenge. Minho knew he was right and Jisung hated it. He almost wanted to change his order just to spite him, but he had been looking forward his order so much that he couldn’t deny himself. 

Jisung looked away indignantly. " . . . No."

Minho laughed in victory. “That’s what I thought.”

As Minho walked away, Jisung marveled at how different he could be. Just now, Minho really felt like himself again. Jisung didn’t understand how he could go from complimenting Jisung to treating him like this in the span of only a few hours. It was confusing.

When Minho brought out his food, Jisung immediately forgave him for anything he had said or done earlier. Jisung’s eyes were glued to the food, his mouth watering. “Thank yo—” He was rudely cut off as Minho stopped just before setting the plate in front of him. 

“Are you _sure_ this is what you want.”

For a moment, Jisung allowed himself to be filled with rage. He had crossed the line now. But then Jisung got a good smell of the food that he should have been eating already and he completely caved. “Yes. _Please_. Please just give me my food.”

Minho laughed and Jisung was surprised at how genuine it sounded (rather than just plain evil, of course). Jisung let out a sound of joy as Minho set the plate in front of him. Even though he knew the food was hot he couldn’t stop himself from immediately shoving a bite into his mouth. 

He looked up to see Minho smiling at him and he couldn’t tell if it was a smirk or a genuine smile, especially after the library. “Enjoy your meal.” That was definitely snark, coming from him. 

“You,” Jisung said around his food. “Are evil.”

Minho finally left him to enjoy his meal in peace and Jisung was feeling even more conflicted than before. He was beginning to think he didn’t know Minho at all. It was so easy to bicker with him when he was like this. But the Minho he saw earlier was just so _different_. 

Jisung decided he had thought enough about Minho for one day. He came here for food and he was going to focus on his food. 

“Jeongin is never late to lunch, do you think he’s okay?” Jisung asked as he finished writing the last sentence on a report. 

“Here!” Jeongin called, louder than he probably should have considering they were in a library. “I’m here.” The youngest rushed up to them, sliding into his usual seat. “My professor got really caught up talking about her cat again.”

Felix shook his head. “She really loves that cat.”

“As she should. Cats deserve all of the love in the world.” Minho’s words surprised no one. 

“You really should be more quiet in the library,” Chan reprimanded kindly, ignoring the side conversation that Jeongin had spurred. 

Jeongin flinched. “Sorry.”

“Actually . . .” Seungmin began hesitantly. “Now that everyone is here, I wanted to ask a question.” All eyes turned to him, waiting. He turned to share a look with Hyunjin before looking back to the rest of his friends. “The night of the Halloween party . . .” Seugmin paused, seemingly struggling to find the right words. Jisung’s heartbeat quickened. That was the night he had forgotten and he was anxious to hear what they had to say. “Hyunjin and I were just wondering if anyone could tell us how we got back to the dorms. We talked it over with each other and we don’t remember what happened after we went out looking for Jeongin.”

Jisung could have sworn he felt his heart stop. They didn’t remember either? He thought it was just him. He had chalked it up to him being tired, but something about the idea of not being alone in his memory loss scared him even more. 

Seungmin and Hyunjin waited for answers expectantly and were met with silence. Chan was the first to speak up. “Actually . . . I don’t think I remember anything past midnight that night. I never really thought about it until now, but the last thing I can recall is getting a call from Felix at almost exactly midnight.

Jisung watched the color drain from Hyunjin’s face. “I can’t remember either,” Changbin admitted, eyebrows knit together and Felix nodded in agreement.

“I thought it was just me,” Jsiung breathed with a shiver. When he looked at Minho, the other nodded as well. That only left one person who had yet to answer.

“Really?” Jeongin asked. “I remember you guys finding me. Kind of . . .” Jeongin stopped to think. “Actually, that might have been a dream. I had a very strange dream that night and I can’t really figure out what was a dream and what wasn’t.”

“So none of you know what happened that night?” Hyunjin sounded terrified and Jisung felt fear creep into his gut as well. The other looked like he was going to puke.

“That’s really weird,” Felix wondered aloud and Jisung could tell it was getting to him to.

“Why are you just now bringing this up?’ Chan questioned, concerned. 

Seungmin and Hyunjin shared another glance and Jisung wondered just how much he was missing. “Someone chased Hyunjin back to the dorms last night.” Hyunjin’s nails dug into the table at Seingmin’s words. 

“What?” Chan breathed in disbelief. 

“They were wearing a mask,” Hyunjin added shakily. 

“And he thought it could be connected to the fact that we can’t remember what happened that night. We were hoping you would be able to help ease our minds . . .”

“What, do you think we upset someone?” Changbin asked. “Surely we were all just tired and went back to sleep afterwards.” Hyunjin shrugged and looked down. 

“Chanbgbin’s right,” Chan agreed. “I’m sure whoever it was wasn’t targeting you specifically.” Jisung could tell Hyunjin so desperately wanted to believe him, but Chan’s voice wavered. He couldn’t be sure. None of them could. 

They didn’t talk about that night anymore; they dropped the topic completely in favor of switching the conversation back to a more lighthearted one, but it wormed its way into Jisung’s mind and refused to leave. How could all of them forget what happened on that same night? It just didn’t make sense. Something must have happened, a thought that terrified him, he just didn’t know what.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the wait! Between preparing for exams and actually taking exams, my schedule has been packed. Hopefully things should be back on track now. Thank you for reading!

Seungmin woke up sweating. He grumbled, turning over in bed and wondering if the AC in the dorm had broken again. The heat was uncomfortable, but Seungmin wasn’t about to get up before his alarm went off. 

As Seungmin tried to curl back into his blankets, it suddenly seemed as if the heat had become more intense. Annoyed, Seungmin finally sat up. If he had to contact someone about this he was going to be upset. 

Any and all thoughts of annoyance left Seungmin’s head when he looked at the room. A warm glow seemed to ebb and flow around him and Seungmin gulped. There was smoke. Heat beating faster, Seungmin turned to see the curtains of their room on fire.

Crying out in alarm Seungmin jumped out of bed. He didn’t have time to think about how on earth this could have happened, he just knew they needed to get out. Seungmin quickly found Hyunjin, still sound asleep in his bed. Seungmin shook him violently. 

“Hyunjin, wake up!” He was shaking and coughing, inhaling more smoke now that he was standing. 

Hyunjin opened his eyes and sat up, confused and not fully awake. 

“We need to go!” Seungmin croaked. “Now!”

Seungmin watched Hyunjin’s eyes dart over to the fire, widening. Seungmin pulled him out of bed and out their door. Smoke pooled out into the halls as Seungmin desperately searched for the fire alarm. Of course their dorm building didn’t have smoke detectors in their rooms. It probably didn’t seem like something they needed to worry about.

Hyunjin ducked, clinging to Seungmin tightly as they rushed through the hall in their pajamas. Seungmin let out a sigh of relief when he finally located the alarm, pulling it down as quickly as he could. He flinched at the loud sound, but he didn’t stop, dragging Hyunjin along to the stairs. Seungmin heard dorm room doors opening as they slipped into stairwell.

“What happened?” Hyunjin breathed, scared, as they sped down the stairs to escape the building. 

Seungmin shook his head. “I don’t know.” He felt like crying, but he allowed the adrenaline still coursing through his body to carry him all the way out of the building.

Only once he and Hyunjin were safe outside in the cold night did Seungmin feel the tears begin to flow down his cheeks. What had just happened? How had a fire started in their room? They could have died.

Students steadily filed out of the building, some confused, other frightened. Seungmin was terrified of what might have happened if he hadn’t woken up. The fire department came followed by the police. As the firemen rushed into the building, Seungmin talked with the officers, trying his best to explain what had happened. 

Seungmin stood, shivering in the cold, his best friend by his side, grateful to be alive. This was the second time he had almost died in a very small fraction of time and this terrified him. First the car and now this? He hated the idea, but he couldn’t stop himself from wondering if someone really was trying to harm him. 

The police assured Seungmin and Hyunjin they would tell them whatever they discovered once the fire was out and everything had calmed down. Seungmin let Hyunjin drag him away to a nearby bench. Seungmin’s could tear his eyes away from the building. He couldn’t see their room from the front of the building, but he could just imagine the flames. 

“Hey,” Hyunjin whispered, grabbing Seungmin’s hand. Seungmin met his eyes. “We’re okay.”

“But we almost weren’t. I almost just slept right through it. We could have _died_ , Jinnie.”

Hyunjin visibly gulped. “But we didn’t. Because of you. We are safe because of you.”

Seungmin shook his head, but it was more in disbelief than anything else. “How,” Seungmin began shakily. “How did it even happen?”

“There shouldn't have been anything in our room that could even start a fire,” Hyunjin agreed. “Nothing at all.”

“We will just have to wait to see what they can figure out, I guess.”

A couple of other students checked up on the two, but whether they were actually concerned or just nosy Seungmin couldn’t tell. They were outside in the cold, clad in nothing but their pajamas, for a long time before they got any news. When the rest of the residents were finally allowed back into the building, Seungmin and Hyunjin were asked to stay back. 

“We need to talk to you about what could have caused the fire,” the officer by the door insisted. She held her hand out, opening it to reveal a pink pocket lighter. Seungmin had never seen it before in his life. “Does this belong to either of you?”

Seungmin shuddered violently. “No,” he breathed, looking over to see Hyunjin shaking his head as well. Had someone set the fire on purpose? The idea chilled Seungmin to his core. 

The officer frowned. “We feared as much.” Seungmin hated the feeling that sunk in his stomach at the words. “Did you happen to open your window tonight?”

Seungmin couldn’t catch his breath. Seungmin didn’t even notice the window was open; he was far too distracted by the fire. Luckily, Hyunjin answered for them. “No. It was closed when we went to bed.” There was a pause. “Why?” Seungmin could see Hyunjin’s breath in the cold air as he uttered the last word.

“Your room is almost completely burt to a crisp,” the officer offered for a start. Seungmin couldn’t even find it in himself to mourn all of the _things_ he had lost. Not right now. “You said the fire started on the curtains. When we got to look at the room the window was open and the lock was broken. It looks like it was forced open from the outside.”

Seungmin felt sick, a nausea building up in his stomach. There was no way this was real. “Are you saying . . .” Seungmin struggled to finish the sentence. “That someone tried to kill us?”

The officer paused, clearly contemplating how to answer this lightly. “It’s a strong possibility. Do you have any idea who could have done this?”

Seungmin and Hyunjin shared a look of horror. When they looked back, the officer was looking at them expectantly. “We don’t know who, but we think this might be related to other cases.” As Seungmin recited the other two incidents, the officer nodded along. Seungmin hated whatever was going on. He felt scared for his life.

“We will take this very seriously, I assure you.” Seungmin allowed himself to feel somewhat comforted by the officer’s words. “For now, we will talk with the campus security about getting you a new room and helping you get back on your feet. We will mostly likely have you move into a new dorm building. For your own safety, we ask of you not to tell anyone else where it is and don’t invite anyone over. We will tell the others in the building to keep things confidential as well.”

Seungmin could hardly believe his ears. This was all seriously happening. Their entire room caught fire and everything they had inside was gone. Someone had very likely tried to kill them. It wasn’t even like they were on the first floor. Their dorm was on the second story of the building and someone had still managed to force open their window and catch their curtains on fire. Terrified didn’t even begin to describe how Seungmin felt. 

“Where do we go now?” Seungmin’s voice was shaking terribly and he was on the verge of tears. 

“If you have any friends on campus, it would be ideal for you to stay with them for the time being. If not, we can find you a temporary place to stay for the rest of the night and until we can prepare a new room for you.”

The pair nodded. “We have people we can stay with,” Hyunjin managed to get out. “Thank you.”

And that was how Seungmin and Hyunjin ended up padding barefoot down the sidewalk in their pajamas in the middle of the night trying to find their friends’ dorm building. Hyunjin hugged Seungmin close. Jeongin was the only other one of their friends that lived on the same end of campus and Seungmin already hated they they were going to bother him. 

The officer had given them an old, temporary phone to take for the night and Seungmin was lucky he actually remembered Jeongin’s number. The pair stood, shivering, outside of the dorm building as Seungmin listened to the phone ring as he waited for Jeongin to answer. There was nothing they could do but hope. To their luck, Jeongin actually picked up and trudged to the door to let them in. It was way past curfew, but Hyunjin and Seungmin had more than a good enough excuse.

They didn’t explain the situation to their friend until they were safely in his room. Jeongin’s roommate had ended up leaving school within the first week, leaving the younger with the room all to himself. This also meant that he conveniently had an extra bed. 

“You can’re be serious,” Jeongin breathed, clearly still tired, but terrified nonetheless. 

“I really wish we weren’t.” Seungmin’s voice shook. 

“Who would want to do this?’ Jeongin wondered aloud. 

Hyunjin shook his head, gulping and clearly trying not to cry. “We have no idea.”

“That is seriously terrifying. Please know that you can _always_ come here if you don’t feel safe.”

Seungmin’s heart squeezed. “Thank you,” he breathed. 

It was still the dead middle of the night the the two didn’t want to bother Jeongin for longer than they had to. Jeongin gave them an extra blanket for the bare bed and one of the two pillows from his own bed. The blanket was thin and not meant to cover an entire bed, but it was far better than nothing. Seungmin assured Jeongin they were fine at least five times before the younger finally settled back into his bed. 

Seungmin huddled close to Hyunjin on the small bed. It felt nice to be so close; it made him feel safe. Hyunjin was shivering, but Seungmin didn’t know whether it was from fear or from the cold. Hyunjin always tried to be so happy. He was ridiculous and he was over the top. Seungmin hated seeing him so _broken_. Seungmin turned so that he was facing Hyunjin in the bed, heart fluttering at how close the other’s face was to his own. 

Hyunjin’s eyes were puffy from crying and Seungmin knew he probably looked the same. He was looking down at Seungmin, eyes sparkling, harboring a million questions. “Hey,” Seungmin whispered, voice scratchy. “We’re going to be okay.”

Hyunjin didn’t reply, nodding with a sniffle. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Seungmin almost gasped when he felt the other’s arms wrap around him, pulling him closer. “Never leave me, Seungmin.”

Butterflies erupted in Seungmin’s stomach and he had to fight to the urge to cry that came on with the rush of emotions. “I’m right here. Always will be.”


	18. Chapter 18

The news of what happened to Hyunjin and Seungmin spread like wildfire throughout the campus, but the rumors of what could have caused it spread just as fast. Students woke up that night to sirens and there was no question as to whether or not whatever happened was going to be a big deal. Felix heard the rumors before he ever found out what really happened to his friends. 

Felix woke up before the sun, creeping out of his dorm room quietly as he usually did to head to his first shift. The second he walked in the door of the book store to start work, he was approached by one of his coworkers, bouncing around like they were excited to tell him something. 

“Did you hear the sirens last night?” she asked giddily. Felix was caught completely off guard.

“Sirens?”

His coworker nodded vigorously, eyes sparkling. “Uh-huh. The fire department was on campus last night.”

This was already alarming, but college students could be stupid sometimes, so Felix didn’t immediately think much of it. “It was probably nothing. Someone probably pulled the alarm by accident or it was for something small.”

His coworker shook her head, smile growing; she knew more than him and this delighted her. “I heard a whole dorm room completely burnt up before they could stop it.” Now she had Felix’s attention. 

“How did a fire start in a dorm room?”

The girl leaned in closer as if she was revealing a juicy secret. “I heard two students started it on purpose. The police showed up to investigate and everything.”

Felix continued to hear stories of the previous night as his shift progressed and he couldn’t help his growing curiosity. There were so many variations of the story; it was an accident with a lighter; it was just one student who was trying to prank someone. Felix didn’t know what to believe, if anything. However, it wasn’t until his shift was nearing its end that Felix actually got any names. 

A girl set a book on the counter before looking up to see Felix’s face. She gasped, covering her mouth. “Oh my goodness. You are friends with Hyunjin and Seungmin, aren’t you?”

Felix tilted his head in confusion. What a random question. “Yes?”

“Are they okay? I heard they got burned in the fire last night.”

Felix swore his heart stopped. This could easily just be another false version of the gossip, but the fact that their names were mentioned in the story at all was alarming, especially since they had only just opened up about a masked figure following Hyunjin back to the dorms. “What?” Felix barely managed to get the word out of his mouth. 

The girl looked shocked. “It was in their building, you know. The fire. No one has seen them since they left the building.”

Felix forgot how to think as he scanned the book for the girl and she left the small shop. He was the only one working now and there was no one in the store to see him pull out his phone. Felix quickly swiped through his contacts until he landed on Seungmin, pressing call as quickly as he could. Felix held the phone up to his ear, listening to the ringing for what felt like an eternity. Felix’s heart sunk to his stomach when it went to voicemail. 

Now panicking, Felix tried Hyunjin only to to come up with the same result. Felix felt absolutely sick with worry. What if something really had happened to them? Felix remained completely out of it until he found himself stumbling out of work. He had a class in ten minutes, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to focus even if he went. Instead. Felix pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Chan. This time, there was an answer. 

“I didn’t want to bother you at work.” Those were the first words out of Chan’s mouth, making Felix almost gasp. So something really had happened. “You know where Jeongin’s dorm room is, right?” 

“Yes.” Felix couldn’t even catch up with his thoughts in time to ask any of the many questions swirling around his head like a whirlpool.

“We will be waiting for you. Everyone else is already here.” Chan hung up, leaving Felix’s mind racing to keep up with what was happening. _Everyone_? Felix really hated that he was that last to know what was going on with his friends, but he knew he didn’t have time to be upset, immediately setting off for the dorm. 

Jeongin met him at the door, leading him up to his room and assuring him he wasn’t the best one to answer his questions. The room almost didn’t have enough room for them all, making it difficult for Felix to immediately spot Seungmin and Hyunjin. The two were wearing clothes that clearly didn’t belong to them and they looked badly shaken. Felix stood in horror as he listened to what _really_ happened, erasing all of the rumors he had heard previously from his mind completely. 

“They told us we were free to go home,” Hyunjin explained shakily. “No consequences.”

“No one would blame you,” Felix offered comfortingly. 

Hyunjin shook his head. 

“They also said they would do everything in their power to protect us in we chose to stay,” Seungmin explained.

“This is serious,” Chan pressed. “If you are in danger, maybe it’s really best if you leave."

Hyunjin frowned. “I worked hard to get into this program. I’m not losing all of my progress. Besides, winter break will be here soon. Surely whoever it is will give up on us by next semester. Or they will find them by then.” 

No one was willing to crush Hyunjin’s hope.

It wasn’t long after that that someone came to steal Seungmin and Hyunjin away to take them to their new room, somewhere none of them could know. Felix took the time to turn to his friends. 

“Were you all really not going to tell me?” Now that he finally knew what was going on, he felt that he deserved the right to be at least a little upset. 

“You were working,” Minho defended.

“Some things are more important than work!” Felix argued. “My friends nearly being burned alive if one of them. Even Changbin was here before me and we are roommates.” Changbin flinched. 

“We’re really sorry.” Jeongin seemed genuinely upset and Felix’s anger subsided. He knew they were also just worried about Seungmin and Hyunjin. He still wasn’t happy about the fact they didn’t contact him, but it wasn’t like they were trying to hide it either. 

Felix sighed. “I just hope they are okay.”

Chan rested a hand on Felix’s shoulder. “Those two are resilient. We just need to make sure we are supporting them whenever we can.”

Felix nodded. “Of course.”

Felix didn’t attend classes for the rest of the day, knowing he would be completely unable to focus. His mind refused to rest until he saw Seungmin and Hyunjin the next day. They were almost acting like nothing had happened. They were the first two to their table for lunch and they were smiling and laughing like usual. Felix didn’t realize how much he had really been worrying about them until he felt the immense relief that they seemed okay. 

Felix tried to let himself sink back into a sort of normalcy, assuring himself his friends were well protected, but there was something else that continued to pester him. It started that night he was returning to the dorm after work, seeing that person. He thought it was just a trick of the light, his imagination playing tricks on him, but the incidence wasn’t isolated. Whenever he was in crowds, Felix continued to see a face that was eerily familiar in ways he didn’t even want to contemplate. It had to be a coincidence. There was no other explanation. 

Felix’s breath hitched in his throat as he approached his dorm building. He looked up from his phone to the glass doors in front of him, already subconsciously reaching for his keycard to enter, when his eyes caught of a certain reflection. Felix spun around, gasping. He was shaking as he scanned the area behind him. No one. Felix turned back to the door and let himself in, but he couldn’t relax. He was sure had had seen a reflection of the person in the door. The same person he swore he had been seeing around campus had been standing almost just behind him. But that wasn’t possible, was it?

Felix was still shaking as he entered his dorm room, closing the door behind him and pulling on it to make sure it was closed tight. He felt incredibly on edge and knowing that someone had tried to kill his friends didn’t make him feel any more safe. 

“Lix, what’s wrong?” Changbin was looking at Felix, eyes dripping with concern. Of course he could immediately tell something was wrong. 

“You will think I am crazy,” Felix breathed, walking over to sit on his bed across from Changbin. 

Changbin thought for a second. “Try me.”

Felix frowned, biting his lip. “It’s nothing, really. I just keep thinking I see something that isn’t there. I guess I’m just on edge after what happened to Hyunjin and Seungmin.” Felix failed to mention that this began before he knew about anything bad happening to his friends. 

Changbin nodded. “I think I understand what you mean?”

Felix froze. “You do?”

“I have been getting this weird feeling lately,” Changbin admitted. “Like someone is watching me. It’s probably like you said, because of what happened to Seungmin and Hyunjin, but it just feels so _vivid_.”

Felix laughed out a sigh of relief. “Maybe we are going crazy together.” Felix offered Changbin a warm smile.

Changbin smiled back, reaching out to take Felix’s hand in his own, running his hand over it gently. Felix’s heart skipped a beat. Changbin met Felix’s eyes and offered him a soft smile in return. “I think we really are.”


	19. Chapter 19

Jisung found himself spending more and more time with Minho. Maybe it was because they were relating over their worry for their friends, or maybe it was because they were actually beginning to get along on their own. Jisung had a feeling it was a combination of the two, but he was never going to admit to Minho. 

Jisung had more free time as the semester was beginning to near its end; there was less coursework and more preparation for exams. As Jisung didn’t ever feel like studying, he felt like he had all the time in the world for friends. Logically, he felt like he should probably join a club or something, but he knew he wasn’t dedicated enough to keep up with something like that when he felt he had already found where he belonged. 

“I really wish we would go somewhere else to eat every once in a while,” Minho bickered. 

Jisung frowned indignantly. “But you love it here.”

“I thought I did. Coming here so often is going to make me sick of it.”

“Oh shut up, you baby. We don’t even come here that much. Besides, I need the cheesecake from this place in order to survive.” Minho laughed and swatted at his arm. 

The two were gathered at the café where Jisung had “stolen” the last piece of cheesecake that day, before they really knew each other. Jisung had been absolutely addicted to this place ever since. Since Jisung actually started talking to Minho, he found that their schedules were actually very similar time-wise. On the days Jisung had to eat earlier and miss lunch with their friends, Minho’s schedule lined up with his almost perfectly. For that reason, the two had started spending their lunches together on those days. They had yet to meet anywhere but this specific café and that is exactly what Minho was griping about.

“You are just trying to cover up the bad memories from when we fist met here,” Minho argued accusingly. 

Jisung shrugged. “Maybe I am.” Minho looked confused at the admission before Jisung continued. “If I eat enough cheesecake here while I am in a good mood I can forget about how you ruined it for me the first time.”

Minho groaned. “You are insufferable.”

“You love me.” Jisung smirked. Minho wrinkled his nose and stuck his tongue out. 

“Remind me again why I decided to talk to you?” Minho asked in mock thoughtfulness. 

“Because I’m handsome?” Jisung knew he was testing his luck, but he was really enjoying it. He felt so much more comfortable with Minho than he ever thought he could. They still bickered constantly, but it was different now. Jisung couldn’t really explain it, but he liked it this way; it felt like something that was only for them.

Minho snorted. “Yeah right.” Jisung couldn’t help but smile and Minho smiled right back. They were mischievous on the outside, but Jisung could see Minho’s eyes sparkling and he knew that the other was having as much fun as he was. Jisung loved when they could be like this. 

After lunch, Jisung went through his classes as normal, almost falling asleep several times. The overcast weather of the season had really been betting to him. It was just as he was leaving one of his classrooms that he ran into Minho again. The other was idling in the hall as if waiting for something. 

“Minho,” Jisung questioned, drawing the other’s attention. Minho jumped a little before turning to give Jisung a smile. “What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you.” he answered like it was nothing, like it should have been obvious. 

Jisung was taken aback. Waiting for him? “Why?” Jisung asked in immediate concern. “Did something happen?”

Minho laughed lightly. “No. I just wanted to spend time with you.” Jisung eyed the other skeptically. This didn’t feel like the same Minho he was just with earlier that day. 

“Why?” Jisung didn’t know how to act when Minho was like this. Jisung felt comfortable arguing with him for hours, but the second Minho started acting . . . well . . . nice, it just didn’t feel right. It wasn’t that Minho wasn’t usually nice to him, but it was times like this, where he seemed overly sappy, that Jisung didn’t know what to do. It was like he was talking to two completely different people. 

Minho shrugged, still smiling. “I don’t know. I thought maybe we could go for a walk? The trees still have some leaves left and there are some really nice trails around here.”

Jisung scrunched up his nose. “How about we just go for coffee instead. I’m feeling pretty tired.”

Minho shrugged. “Sure.”

Jisung couldn’t stop staring at Minho the entire walk, even as he walked up to the counter to order their drinks. He didn’t understand how this was the same person he talked to over lunch every week. As Minho turned to hand Jisung his coffee, their hands brushed. He was so cold. 

Jisung fiddled with his hands nervously as he sipped his coffee at the table. He couldn’t find it in himself to glance up from his drink for the longest time, feeling Minho’s gaze on him. When he finally did peek upwards, he met Minho’s eyes and he felt his face heat up in embarrassment. 

“You have pretty eyes.” Jisung choked on his coffee. 

“What?” Jisung sputtered, trying to breathe. 

Minho leaned forward on his hands. “You have pretty eyes. They are dark, but shining. Like they hold a million secrets.”

Jisung averted his gaze, heat flooding his cheeks. He laughed awkwardly. “Haha, okay. Whatever you say.”

Jisung didn’t know what to do when Minho said things like that. He didn’t know how he should respond. Jisung found his mind still spinning by the time he got back to his dorm. Who was Lee Minho?

Jisung sat against the wall of the dance studio, eagerly awaiting the performance. Felix, Hyunjin, and Minho had a group dance evaluation coming up and they had invited all of their other friends to come and watch them practice. 

“Don’t judge us too hard,” Felix prefaced nervously. “We only just got all the moves down.”

Chan waved his hand in the air dismissively. “You will do amazing.”

They did, in fact, do amazing. Jisung couldn’t help but to stare in awe at the performance. When it ended, Jisung was left wanting more. “That was too short!” he complained immediately. Hyunjin laughed. Jisung’s friends began to clap and he joined in.

After several rounds of compliments from everyone, the group officially broke apart. Some of their friends could only be there for a short time and needed to head to other classes. Jisung, however, was free. 

“That was seriously amazing,” Jisung complimented once he had Minho to himself. 

Minho smiled and his eyes sparkled. Jisung’s heart fluttered. “Thanks!"

“I can tell how much you love dancing just from watching.”

Minho was beaming. Jisung rarely even got to see him smile like this and he felt so privileged. “Thank you. Your music is pretty good too."

Jisung felt the blood drain from his face. “What?” he barely breathed. 

“Chan has showed me some of your songs for class. You are really talented.”

Jisung forgot how to breathe, blood suddenly rushing to his face. “I—he—what? I didn’t think anyone heard those . . .” Jisung felt like he was going to explode. He wrote very emotional songs more often than not. Though he didn’t often write about real life, those songs were still very personal to him. 

“It’s okay. I won’t share them. I honestly wasn’t going to say anything because I didn’t know how you would feel about me listening to them, but I really wanted to tell you how good they are. Your voice is so nice.”

That’s it, Jisung was going to pass out right there. “Thanks,” he squeaked. 

“Alright, that’s enough compliments. Things are getting too sappy.” Jisung almost literally breathed a sigh of relief at his words. “I have another class to get too soon and you need to study so you won’t fail your exams.”

“Hey! I won’t fail!” 

Minho smiled mischievously and tilted his head. “Ahh, I don’t know. You can be pretty ditzy sometimes.”

Jisung crossed his arms and pouted. “You know I’m forgetful.”

Minho laughed. “Whatever. See you around.”

Jisung shook his head as Minho walked away. He was convinced he would never understand him.


	20. Chapter 20

It hadn’t been that long since the incident, but Hyunjin already felt safer. There hadn't been any signs of danger since he and Seungmin had moved into their new room and he knew the school had people looking out for them everywhere. 

It was frigid outside and it was the night of the final soccer game of the fall season. Hyunjin was excited. He had never been a huge fan of sports, but he always had a good time watching Jongho and Wooyoung play soccer. Those two seriously had a talent for the sport and it was entertaining to watch. Usually, Hyunjin watched the games with Yunho and his friends; it was his way of keeping in touch with his other childhood friend. It wasn’t often that Hyunjin could convince Seungmin to go to games with him, but the other was willing to go just about everywhere with Hyunjin now. 

Hyunjin had a ball wrapping both himself and Seungmin in sweaters and scarves to keep them warm in the harsh breeze. Hyunjin turned to look at Seungmin as they waited in line to enter the stadium. Seungmin was frowning, round glasses resting on his red nose. His cheeks were rosy from the cold and his hair was fluffed up by the wind. Hyunjin fought the overwhelming urge to just _squeeze_ him; he was just _too cute_. 

It was clear that Seungmin didn’t particularly want to be out in the cold to watch a soccer game, but Hyunjin hadn’t stopped whining until he agreed to accompany him. 

The two found their seats with little to no problem once San stood and waved them other enthusiastically. All of their friends were clad in scarves and hats sporting their school colors and logo. They all looked so _excited_. Hyunjin could already tell he was really going to miss this over the winder break. Hyunjin sat down next to Yunho, immediately striking up a conversation with his old friend. As they talked, Hyunjin was not oblivious to the way Seungmin seemed to be pretending Yunho didn’t exist. Hyunjin knew how his roommate felt about Yunho, but he still couldn’t help but feel it was very rude. 

The game started and Hyunjin’s heart rate skyrocketed with excitement. It felt like he had been waiting for this after all of the other games he had been to. Wooyoung started the game strong on offense, but Hyunjin could already tell that this game was going to be a tough one. 

Every time a call was made and there was time before the ball was back on the field, Hyunjin would feel Seungmin tug on his sleeve to ask what was going on. Hyunjin found this incredibly endearing to a point he almost wanted the referees to blow the whistle more. 

There was a minute left of the game and both teams were tied. It was the just the kind of suspense a final game deserved and it was thrilling to watch. Hyunjin almost screamed as the other team ran all the way to the other side of the field with the ball. Hyunjin held his breath. He felt himself reach for Seungmin’s hand, squeezing it hard. Just before the player on the opposing team made it close enough to shoot for the goal, Jongho managed to kick the ball back across the field. Hyunjin gasped, leading forward almost instinctively. 

The clock ticked as time rapidly decreased. Hyunjin bit his lip and watched hopefully as Wooyoung managed to keep the ball as he ran closer and closer to the goal. Closer. Closer. Shoot. Wooyoung kicked the ball and time moved in slow motion. Hyunjin’s eyes followed the ball as it soared right past the goalie and into the goal. 

Hyunjin jumped up, shouting in joy. He pulled Seungmin up along with him, forgetting that he was still holding his gloved hand tightly. Seungmin stumbled and Hyunjin giggled breathlessly. All of their other friends were also on their feet as well as the majority of the people in the crowd. Hyunjin met Seungmin’s eyes and breathed a laugh of disbelief. He could see his breath in the cold air. 

The clock ticked and the announcer counted down the final ten seconds. They had won. Hyunjin threw his arms around Seungmin in a celebratory hug. 

“Wasn’t that amazing?” Hyunjin asked, giddy, after pulling back. 

Seungmin laughed and smiled. “I guess that was worth leaving our room for.” Hyunjin clapped happily even though it didn’t make a sound with his gloves on. 

By the time he and Seungmin are walking back to their dorm, Hyunjin’s guard was completely down. He was so distracted by the joy of the game and saying goodbye to his friends. It took him too long to notice it was just him and Seungmin walking down the now dark street. An eerie feeling washed over him, one that was all too familiar. Hyunjin found himself reaching for Seungmin’s hand again, desperately needing an anchor. 

Hyunjin’s eyes darted into every dark alley they passed as he tried his best to stay under the lamplight. Hyunjin tried to calm himself down every time he didn't manage to see anything suspicious, but he only felt his heartbeat quicken. The anticipation was killing him. He just _knew_ they were out here. The image if the mask was still so vivid in Hyunjin’s mind. 

Hyunjin almost didn’t notice when his eyes actually caught on a figure in the dark, eyes too used to skipping over the dark spaces. Hyunjin froze in his steps, eyes darting quickly back to the alley. He felt Seungmin pull on his arm unintentionally as he tried to continue walking. 

“Hyunjin, what—?” Hyunjin slapped a hand over Seungmin’s mouth, pulling him close, eyes still glued to the alleyway. The masked figure was staring right at him, just barely illuminated enough to see. Hyunjin felt Seungmin turn to follow his gaze. Seungmin removed Hyunjin’s hand from his mouth. “Hyunjin, there’s nothing there.”

Hyunjin turned to Seungmin in fear, eyes wide. “Shhh!” When he turned back the figure was gone. Hyunjin shivered violently. 

“We can’t go back,” Hyunjin almost sobbed, shaking like a leaf. 

“Hyunjin, we are okay.” Hyunjin could tell Seungmin was trying to reassure him, but he had also known Seungmin long enough to know that he was scared too. 

Hyunjin shook his head, biting back a panic attack. “They will follow us back. We can’t go back to the dorm.”

Seungmin lost all of his composure. “Where do we go?” he was clinging closely to Hyunjin now and Hyunjin felt ever so slightly more safe. 

Hyunjin thought for a moment. “We go the long way.”

Seungmin knit his eyebrows together. “What do you mean? What long way?”

“Just trust me.”

Seungmin and Hyunjin weren’t allowed to leave their room for the next two days. Police searched the campus, but came up with nothing. 

“I hate living like this,” Hyunjin complained, hanging upside down off of his bed. 

“What else do you want us to do? They are trying their best to find who is doing this.”

Hyunjin sighed dramatically, sitting up and turning around. He huffed, pouting. “I _know_. But I hate this; living in fear."

“There isn’t anything stopping us from going home,” Seungmin replied, eyebrows knit together. 

Hyunjin’s frown deepened. “I worked hard to get into this school. I’m not leaving because of this. Besides , it’s better for everyone if they catch whoever is behind this.”

Seungmin shook his head, reaching out to ruffle Hyunjin’s hair. “You’re right.”

“Thanks. I know.”

“I wish we could go out and do more too,” Seungmin sighed, sitting down next to Hyunjin. “I miss seeing our friends as often as we used to."

“It’s so bizarre how much Jisung and Minho talk now.”

Seungmin laughed. “Most of their conversations are arguing, so I don’t know of this was really a step forward.”

“Anything is a step forward for them.” Hyunjin turned to look Seungmin in the eyes. “I am glad for one thing all of this caused though.”

Seungmin raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“It finally got you to stop spending all of your time with your nose in the same books you have been rereading for the last several years.”

Seungmin sighed. “Hyunjin.” It was a challenge. Hyunjin knew he was already supposed to know not to pester Seungmin about that.

“Instead,” Hyunjin sang with a mischievous smile. “I have had you all to myself.”

Hyunjin could have sworn he saw Seungmin’s cheeks turn ever so slightly red. “Shut up.”

Hyunjin smiled, but he had really meant it. He felt like he spent so much time fighting with the supernatural for Seungmin’s attention. Hyunjin knew he probably wasn't as interesting as fairies and forest spirits, but he always hoped that, one day, Seungmin would look up from those books and realize Hyunjin had been waiting for him all of this time. 

Seungmin was too absorbed in his research to ever notice the way Hyunjin stared at him as his glassed slipped down his nose when he was reading. How Hyunjin so carefully spent the time memorizing the way Seungmin followed the text with his finger when he was focused. The way he so often sighed when reading the same words over and over. The way his eyes would sparkle when he found something that actually interested him. They way his eyelids would flutter when he started to grow tired. 

There was one night in particular that Hyunjin could never seem to forget. Seungmin was reading one of the same books he always carried around with him while Hyunjin tried to do homework across from him. Seungmin didn’t pay him any attention and Hyunjin gave him so much that he never really got anything done. Seungmin spent so long at the library that night that he fell asleep while reading. Hyunjin didn’t want to take pictures of the other sleeping without his permission, but the image was forever captured in Hyunjin’s memory. Hyunjin felt like he was committing a crime when he woke him. 

Seungmin was so sleepy that Hyunjin practically had to drag him back to the dorm. When he tried to lie Seungmin in his bed, the other clung to him like a sloth. Trying to pry him off only made him cling tighter. It got to a point where Hyunjin just had to give up and lie in the bed with him. Even if it was just because he was sleepy, that was the most attention Hyunjin felt like he had gotten from Seungmin in a long time. 

Seeing Seungmin in front of him now, as broken as he was, but still trying to comfort him. Hyunjin was grateful. 

“What are you smiling at?” Seungmin prodded. 

Hyunjin’s smile only widened. “Nothing.”


	21. Chapter 21

“This place is huge!” Jisung wondered aloud, awestruck. 

Seungmin laughed. “I still am not used to it and I have known Changbin for a long time.”

Their group of friends were all gathered at Changbin’s family home and Jisung had just walked in the door. It had been a tradition since they had known each other to gather at Changbin’s house on the first day of winter break to celebrate. They would be spending some time away from school and away from each other and it only felt right to party first. It was also worth mentioning that Changbin’s family is more on the rich side, which meant his house like it was only a step down from a mansion. 

“There’s literally a chandelier in the foyer.” Jisung was still marveling at the sight before him. 

Changbin waved his hand in the air dismissively. “It’s nothing. Just home.” 

The party kicked off from there. It was nothing crazy; the friends spent most of their time eating and just talking for the first hour or so. It wasn’t until it began to get dark, that they really began to wake up. 

“We should play a game,” Jeongin suggested. “Like we always do.”

“Alright,” Changbin agreed and they all gathered around in a circle on the furniture. “What game do you want to play first.”

“This is Jisung’s first winter break party, so I say we play Never Have I Ever,” Hyunjin suggested. 

“Just like we did for Felix,” Jeongin said, agreeing. 

Seungmin looked to Jisung. “Do you know how to play?”

Jisung nodded hesitantly. “I think so? Is this the game where someone says something they have never done and if someone else playing _has_ done it, they have to drink?”

Seungmin nodded. “Exactly. Except we don’t have alcohol, so we will use something else.”

“I can go and get some candy,” Changbin offered. He left and came back with eight small bowls filled with candy. “I gave us each ten pieces. The first to run out loses. The last, wins. Fair?” Everyone repeated “fair.”

“I say Jisung should start,” Felix said. “This game is about getting to know each other even more, after all.”

Jisung bit his lip and Seungmin could tell he was really thinking. “It doesn't have to be anything deep,” Chan offered. “This is meant to be fun.” Jisung nodded. 

“Never have I ever . . . broken a bone.” Everyone hummed in intrigue. That was a pretty good one. 

Seungmin’s eye caught on Felix as he popped a candy into his mouth. “What?” Seungmin asked loudly, confused. “When?” All eyes were on Felix, the only one who took a candy. 

He laughed awkwardly, swallowing the candy before speaking. “It’s not an interesting story, I promise you.”

“Well you have to tell us now,” Minho argued. 

“I fell down the stairs. Broke my wrist.” There was a chorus of “ow”s. 

“Alright, Jisung, who’s next?” Chan asked. 

“How about Jeongin.”

Jeongin hummed. “Never have I ever . . . needed glasses.”

“Okay, that’s not fair.” Seungmin was laughing as he argued. He ate one of the candies angrily. “That was targeted.”

Jeongin smiled and shrugged. “It is what it is. Changbin should go next.”

“Never have I ever . . . had a supernatural experience.”

Everyone paused. Literally everyone. There was a silence in the room and Seungmin looked between his friends. 

“Okay, clearly that was a bad question. I guess that one isn’t really objective. I’ll pass to Felix.”

“Never have I ever tripped and fallen into someone.” Felix didn’t even hesitate. 

Jisung gasped dramatically. “How could you do this to me?” Jisung ate the candy begrudgingly. “You know what. I think I will just accept it. I have clumsy protagonist syndrome.” They all laughed. 

“Minho, you can go next.”

“Never have I ever broken something at a friend's house and never told them.” Hyunjin and Seungmin both picked up a candy before freezing and looking each other dead in the eyes. 

The others started laughing immediately. “What did you do?” Chan laughed. 

“I accidentally broke a plant pot at Hyunjin’s house when I was kicking a ball around and I left before anyone found it.”

“So the truth finally comes out!” Hyunjin yelled dramatically. “I got in so much trouble for that and I couldn’t figure out how it had happened.”

Seungmin raised an eyebrow. “What did you do?”

Hyunjin paused. “I accidentally stepped on Seungmin’s new pair of glasses when we were in the sixth grade. I took them home and threw them away so he would never know.

Seungmin frowned deeply. “I thought I lost those. My parents were so upset.”

“I’m sorry! It still haunts me to this day.”

“Alright, Hyunjin. Your turn.”

“Hmm. Never have I ever thought I was going to drown.”

“Alright, you all just want me to lose at this point,” Seungmin complained, devouring yet another candy. “We haven’t even gotten through everyone once yet.”

“You are literally so dramatic, you lost one floatie and swore your life flashed before your eyes.” Seungmin didn’t appreciate Hyunjin calling him out like that.

“I almost _died_ ,” Seungmin insisted dramatically and all of his friends broke out in laughter. 

“Alright, Seungmin, you can go.”

Seungmin folded his arms, thinking for a moment. He felt like he could get some really good answers out of his friends. “Never have I ever been in love at first sight.” He was genuinely surprised at how many of his friends picked up candy. He looked at Jisung, Minho, Changbin, and Felix, wide eyed.

Jisung shrugged. “What can I say. The first time I saw cheesecake, I knew it was for life.”

Seungmin groaned, he should have known these were the answers he would get from a question like this. “Let me guess, the rest of your answers are like that too?” He looked around to see his friends smile and nod. “Well, I tried. Chan, your turn.”

“Never have I ever written a song for someone.” Chan’s smile was wicked. He was targeting someone, but Seungmin didn’t know who.

Changbin frowned and took a piece. “These questions are too specific,” he complained. 

“Oooo,” Hyunjin sang. “Who did you write a song for?”

“No one,” Changbin insisted. 

“Well then why did you take a candy?” Jeongin argued. 

“It’s a technicality. Technically, they never got the song.”

“You wrote someone a song and never gave it to them? Is out little Changbin shy?” Minho teased.

“Shut up.” Everyone laughed. 

The game went on for a while before someone finally won. Seungmin ended up being the first out. He took that as a compliment though; it meant he did the most with his life, right? Jisung won in the end, but that could also be because they didn’t know him well enough to target him with their questions yet. The game was fun either way. 

The group stayed in the living room and chatted late into the night before everyone finally split up to sleep. Chan, Felix, and Minho all agreed to stay in the living room for the night. Changbin headed to his bedroom, leaving Jisung and Jeongin to one guest bedroom and Hyunjin and Seungmin to the other. 

Seungmin couldn’t sleep that night. He tossed and turned in bed beside Hyunjin, sighing heavily. Honestly, he wasn’t sure how he didn’t wake the other up. That night had made him feel like everything was normal again, but it didn’t last. Now that he was left to his own thoughts again, all he could think of was the horrors they had left behind. 

Seungmin spent so much of his time scouring the same books, trying to find answers to something that shouldn't even concern him anymore. Now that he had an actual mystery to solve, one that was threatening both his and Hyunjin’s lives, he realized what a failure he truly was. He spent so much time buried in fantasy that he had no idea how to deal with reality. 

Seungmin flipped over in bed with a huff, eyes landing on Hyunjin’s sleeping face. Seungmin’s frown twisted into a light smirk. Hyunjin had been through everything with him. They grew up together; they knew each other sometimes better than they knew themselves. 

As Seungmin stared at his friend’s peaceful, sleeping face, he comforted himself with at least one thing: at least he wasn’t alone. As long as he had Hyunjin, he knew he never would be.


	22. Chapter 22

Jeongin loved being home just as much as he feared it. He missed his family and the place he was so familiar with, but it never failed to remind him of just how much time he had missed out on. While he was away at college, it was easy to forget everything about his past and lose himself in his friends and his studies. Being at home, he felt like he was constantly reminded of what he was missing. 

It snowed for the first time two days after he got back. It was beautiful; it always was. His parents cooked a congratulatory meal for his temporary return and Jeongin loved spending time with them. He loved being home. He feared being home. 

It wasn’t just memories, or, rather, the lack thereof, that made Jeongin feel odd about returning home. It was also something there that felt hauntingly familiar; on old friend; an old enemy. 

At the first sign of snow, Jeongin eagerly rushed outside. He was met not only with the overcast sky, gracing him with falling crystals of ice, but with the very trees that had swallowed him not once, but twice. The trees weren’t especially tall, but they felt like they loomed over him, taunting him.

_Come play_ , the forest always seemed to say, inviting him in. The pull felt unavoidable. Jeongin knew he should fear the forest—it took so much away from him—but he also knew that he couldn’t. Something about the trees, shivering in the cold, dancing in the breeze, never failed to utterly enchant him. 

Just as Jeongin took a step towards the trees, he heard his name being called from inside the house, shaking him from his trance. “Coming!” he called, casting one last glance at the woods behind his house before returning inside. 

Jeongin had similar dreams every night he was home. It was bizarre just how nearly identical the dreams were and he had a feeling it wasn’t normal. Jeongin also supposed he probably shouldn’t remember them as vividly as he always did when he woke up. 

In every dream Jeongin was walking through the woods. Jeongin omnisciently recognized that it was night, but everything was lighter than it should be. Aside from those more dreamlike elements, everything felt startlingly realistic. He spent a long time just wandering before he saw a shadow. The shadow darted between trees and Jeongin always followed, almost autonomously. Every time he was led to someplace almost familiar, but just out of his mind’s reach. It was a thin, clear stream, flowing quickly over rocks and stones, the earth curling over it, held together by moss and the roots of the trees. Jeongin was never brave enough to cross that stream in his dreams. 

As the break dragged on, Jeongin inevitably found himself wandering out to the forest again. This time, he stood just in front of the trees, not daring to step in. He gazed into the woods, the trees stretching out before him, seemingly endless. His mind briefly brought him back to when he was a child, staring into the trees after a ball that he could no longer see. He wished he had never gone in in the first place. 

There was snow on the ground; it wasn’t much, but it was enough for Jeongin’s boots to have made notable tracks behind him. It rarely snowed in Orchidview, especially this much. The snow all around him looked so pristine, untouched. The forest looked like a forbidden wonderland. 

Jeongin’s breath caught in his throat as he watched a figure emerge in front of him, among the trees. The figure was too far away for Jeongin to properly make out any details, but he had a feeling he already knew who it was. 

The figure drew closer and Jeongin was terrified. It was the same person he had been seeing all over campus. He thought that he had escaped by coming home, but he realized he was terribly mistaken. This wasn’t going to stop. Jeongin knew this could all be his mind playing tricks on him, it would be unusual; it had tricked him out of remembering years of his life, after all. Maybe it was all of the time Jeongin had been spending in the Supernatural Club, or maybe it was just how real the person looked that made Jeongin believe otherwise.

Jeongin turned to look back at his house, at his footsteps leading away from the door. When he turned back around, the figure was gone. Jeongin took a deep breath, the cold air sharp in his lungs, and took a step into the trees. The snow crunched under his feet as he wandered in a little further. It almost felt like he had broken through a barrier. It was exhilarating, walking into the woods after so long. 

“Jeongin!”

Jeongin’s breath hitched in his throat as he felt someone grab his wrist. He spun around quickly to see his mother, eyebrows knit together in worry, concern, and what he deciphered to be fear. 

“What are you doing?” She sounded breathless. 

Jeongin blinked several times. “I don’t know.” He admitted. 

“Come inside. I will make you some hot chocolate. Just, please . . . stay away from the woods.”

Jeongin swallowed and nodded. Not even daring to look back into the trees. “Okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> I am still very much in the process of writing this, so I make absolutely no guarantees on how often I will be able to update this. I write in it fairly often, but with all of the time going into my classes right now I simply do not know how much time I will have for writing, editing, and uploading. That being said, I love working on this, so I will do my best.  
> Sorry for any spelling mistakes! Thank you for reading!


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